VEGF and sFLT-1 in serum of PIH patients and effects on the foetus

The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFLT-1) in the serum of patients with pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) syndrome and its effects on the foetus was explored. A total of 105 cases of PIH pregnant women admitted to The First People's Hospital of Changzhou from March 2015 to February 2018 were divided into 3 groups according to the severity of the patients condition. Group A (n=35) was hypertension complicating pregnancy, group B (n=46) was mild preeclampsia and group C (n=24) was severe preeclampsia. In addition, 35 healthy pregnant women were selected as the control group. VEGF and sFLT-1 levels in serum were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, and the correlations between levels of VEGF and sFLT-1, neonatal weight and Apgar score were analyzed. Compared with group A, the level of serum VEGF was lower, while the level of sFLT-1 was higher in groups B and C (P<0.05). Compared with group B, the serum VEGF level in group C decreased significantly (P<0.05), while the serum level of sFLT-1 increased significantly (P<0.05). Compared with group A, neonatal weight and Apgar score in group C was significantly lower (P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between the serum VEGF level and neonatal weight and Apgar score (r=0.435, P<0.001. r=0.357, P<0.001). There was a negative correlation between the serum sFLT-1 level and neonatal weight and Apgar score (r=−0.351, P<0.001. r=−0.422, P<0.001). Therefore, we concluded that VEGF and sFlt-1 may be involved in the occurrence and development of PIH. The decrease of serum VEGF level and the increase of sFlt-1 level may be related to the inhibited fetal growth and development, which is of great significance in the clinical detection of PIH patients.