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. 2018;65(1.2):64-68.
doi: 10.2152/jmi.65.64.

The plasma level changes of VEGF and soluble VEGF receptor-1 are associated with high-altitude pulmonary edema

Shukun Zhang  1   2 , Juanli Liu  3 , Dongmei Jiang  4 , Tana Wuren  5 , Siqing Ma  6 , Yansheng Du  7 , Xin Yi  7 , Shizheng Wu  8
Affiliations

The plasma level changes of VEGF and soluble VEGF receptor-1 are associated with high-altitude pulmonary edema

Shukun Zhang et al. J Med Invest. 2018.

Abstract

Hypoxia-induced plasma levels of VEGF and sFlt-1 are responsible for increased vascular permeability occurred in both brain and pulmonary edema. Currently, it remains unclear the exact roles of VEGF and sFlt-1 in High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) pathogenesis. In this study, plasma levels of VEGF and sFlt-1 from 10 HAPE and 10 non-HAPE subjects were measured and compared. The results showed that plasma levels of both VEGF and sFlt-1 in HAPE patients were significantly increased as compared to the non-HAPE group. Interestingly, increased plasma levels of these two protein factors were markedly reduced after treatments. As compared to VEGF, sFlt-1 was much more affected by hypoxia and treatments, suggesting this factor was a key factor contributed to HAPE pathogenesis. Importantly, the ratio of sFlt-1 and VEGF in group of either non-HAPE or HAPE after recovery was significantly lower than the ratio in HAPE patients prior to treatments. Our findings suggested that sFlt-1 was a key factor that involved in HAPE pathogenesis and the sFlt-1/VEGF ratio could be used as a sensitive diagnostic marker for HAPE. J. Med. Invest. 65:64-68, February, 2018.

Keywords: High altitude pulmonary edema; Soluble VEGF receptor; Vascular endothelial growth factor.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the author(s).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Plasma levels of VEGF and sFlt-1 in HAPE (n=10) and control (n=10) subjects at Yuzhu peak camp (5050 m). A, the mean plasma level of VEGF in HAPE patients was significantly increased as compared with control subjects. B, the plasma level of sFlt-1 was significantly increased in subjects who developed HAPE as compared to control individuals. **p<0.01.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Plasma levels of VEGF and sFlt-1 in HAPE patients(n=10) before and after treatments. A. Plasma levels of VEGF were significantly higher in the before treatment group and reduced after treatments. B. Similarly, plasma levels of sFlt-1 level were increased at the onset of HAPE and decreased after treatments. **p<0.01
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The difference of sFlt-1/VEGF ratios between HAPE (n=10) and control groups (n=10), as well as between HAPE patients before and after treatments. A. The sFlt-1/VEGF ratio was significantly increased 4.05 folds in HAPE patients as compared to control subjects. B. The sFlt-1/VEGF ratio in the after treatment group was significantly decreased as compared with the pretreatment group. **p<0.01.
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