Serum placental growth factor and fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 during first trimester in Chinese women with pre-eclampsia – a case–control study

Abstract

Objective. To investigate the association between first trimester maternal placental growth factor (PlGF) and fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) levels with subsequent development of pre-eclampsia (PE).

Methods. This is a matched case–control study using stored serum samples collected from non-smoking Chinese women with singleton pregnancies who underwent first trimester screening for aneuploidy. Each case that developed PE was matched with a control whose maternal age, weight, gestational age and date of blood collection were within  ±2 years,  ±5 kg,  ±1 day, and ±2 weeks of the index case, respectively. Non-parametric paired test was used to compare the PlGF and sFlt-1 levels. PlGF and sFlt-1 were transformed to their equivalent multiple of the median (MoM) using the matched control as the expected median value. The 95% confidence interval (CI) of the estimated median PlGF and sFlt-1 MoM in those with PE was determined.

Results. The median PlGF level in the 27 study cases with PE was lower than that of the matched controls (42.9 pg/ml versus 59.8 pg/ml; p = 0.001). The median PIGF MoM was 0.71 (95% CI 0.63–0.92). There was no statistically significant difference in sFlt-1 levels between those with PE and their matched control (p = 0.648). The median sFlt-1 MoM was 1.01 (95% CI 0.65–1.3).

Conclusions. Women who developed PE had lower serum PlGF levels but normal sFlt-1 levels in the first trimester.

Keywords:

• Placental growth factor
• fms-like tyrosine kinase 1
• hypertension
• pre-eclampsia
• prediction
• Chinese

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.