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. 2013;8(1):e54153.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054153. Epub 2013 Jan 10.

Gestation dependant changes in angiogenic factors and their associations with fetal growth measures in normotensive pregnancy

Deepali Sundrani  1 , Vinita Khot, Hemlata Pisal, Savita Mehendale, Girija Wagh, Asmita Joshi, Sadhana Joshi
Affiliations

Gestation dependant changes in angiogenic factors and their associations with fetal growth measures in normotensive pregnancy

Deepali Sundrani et al. PLoS One. 2013.

Abstract

Background: Earlier studies indicate that altered angiogenesis at birth is associated with poor birth outcome in women with preeclampsia. Now, we hypothesize that the progressive gestation dependant changes in markers of angiogenesis will be more useful to predict birth weight early even in a normotensive pregnancy. This study for the first time examines the association of gestation dependant changes in the levels of maternal angiogenic factors in addition to their levels in cord with birth weight.

Method: Ninety two pregnant women were followed at three different time points: 16-20 weeks, 26-30 weeks and at delivery during pregnancy. Plasma levels of angiogenic and anti angiogenic factors were determined by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.

Results: Maternal plasma VEGF levels increased (p<0.01) till the second time point and decreased (p<0.05) up to delivery while plasma sFlt-1 levels increased (p<0.01) at delivery. PlGF levels peaked (p<0.01) at second time point and decreased (p<0.01) at delivery. Cord plasma VEGF levels were higher (p<0.01) and sFlt-1 levels were lower (p<0.01) as compared to maternal values at all time points. Maternal plasma VEGF levels at first time point and PlGF levels at delivery were positively (p<0.05 and p<0.01 respectively), while sFlt-1/PlGF ratio at delivery was negatively associated (p<0.05) with birth weight.

Conclusion: Levels of pro- and anti-angiogenic factors may be differentially regulated across gestation. Maternal VEGF levels at early gestation (16-20 weeks) may be predictive of birth weight in healthy term pregnancies.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow chart for number of samples analyzed at various time points.
Figure 2
Figure 2. VEGF, sFlt-1, PlGF and PlGF/sFlt-1 levels in maternal plasma at three time points (16–20 week, 26–30 week, at delivery) and in cord plasma.
**p<0.01 as compared to T1; @ p<0.05 and @@ p<0.01 as compared to T2; $$ p<0.01 as compared to T3. Type of analysis: ANOVA, posthoc test-LSD.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Schematic diagram for the association of maternal angiogenic factors with cord angiogenic factors, blood pressure and fetal growth measures.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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