Indicators of angiogenesis and hormonal profile in pregnant women with chronic hypertension in the first trimester

Abstract

The role of angiogenesis factors and hormonal profile in pregnant women with arterial hypertension has not been detailed studied, and their interaction in such patients has not been determined at present time.The objective: to determine the features of angiogenesis factors and hormonal profile in pregnant women with arterial hypertension of the 1and 2 grade. Materials and methods. A prospective study was conducted in 88 pregnant women, which included: analysis of clinical and anamnestic characteristics and the study of pregnancy characteristics in women with chronic arterial hypertension (CAH) in the I trimester of pregnancy (11–12 weeks). The open prospective controlled study involved 61 pregnant women with CAH of the 1 and 2 stages which consisted the main group. The control group included 27 healthy pregnant women with physiological pregnancy. Concentrations of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), progesterone (PG), estradiol (E) and markers of angiogenesis – placental growth factor (PlGF) as a proangiogenic factor and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase (sFlt-1) as an antiangiogenic factor were determined in the blood serum of all patients, sFlt-1/PGF ratio was also estimated (K). Statistical analysis was performed using «STATISTICA® for Windows 13.0».Results. In the I trimester of pregnancy in women with CAH, a shift in the balance between pro- and anti-angiogenic factors is determined, which is manifested by a statistically significant (p<0.05) increase sFlt-1 level (1700.9 pg/ml) and a decrease PlGF level in 3.7 times (9.1 pg/ml) and, accordingly, an increase K coefficient (sFlt-1/PlGF) by 5.3 times (184.5). The mean concentrations of E, PG and hCG in pregnant women of the main group did not differ statistically significantly from those in the control group. However, according to the results of the correlation analysis, PlGF and PG indicators have feedback in pregnant women with CAH (r=-0.29; p<0.05). When calculating the correlation of PlGF and hormones, it was found that in pregnant women with CAH there is their growth according to the control group, namely the indicator hCG correlates with PlGF (51.8 units vs. 14.8 units) 3.5 times, E correlates with PlGF (309.7 units vs. 70.0 units) 4.4 times and PG correlates with PlGF (4.8 units vs. 1.0 units) 4.8 times (p<0.001 for all indicators). These changes indicate the presence of angiogenesis disorders in pregnant women with chronic hypertension, starting from the I trimester of gestation.Conclusions. Pregnant women with CAH in the I trimester have disturbances in balance between pro-angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors with prevalence of sFlt-1 and decrease of PlGF in blood serum. Because of such imbalance in pregnant women with CAH of the 1 and 2 grade, the interaction of angiogenesis factors and hormones changed from direct to inverse. It may lead to the development of placental dysfunction in the future, so treatment and prevention should be provided for the pregnant women with CAH in the I trimester.