Serum amphiregulin and cerebellin-1 levels in severe preeclampsia

Abstract

Purpose Preeclampsia is a form of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and defined as the presence of new-onset hypertension and proteinuria or other end organ damage occurring after 20-week gestation. Preeclampsia can be a destructive process that can cause maternal and infant mortality. The exact etiopathogenesis of preeclampsia is still undefined. We aimed to compare serum amphiregulin and cerebellin-1 levels of severe preeclampsia patients with healthy pregnant women and healthy control subjects. Materials and methods A total of 88 women were enrolled in this study. Patients diagnosed with severe preeclampsia were group 1 (n = 28), healthy non-pregnant normotensive women group 2 (n = 30), and healthy pregnant women group 3 (n = 30). The participants in each group were matched for age. Pregnant women in groups 1 and 3 were also matched for gestational age. Serum amphiregulin and cerebellin-1 levels were measured using ELISA. Results Serum amphiregulin levels were 3413 ± 1.38 ng/ml (1748–7739), 8510 ± 7213 ng/ml (2019–24,000), and 6580 ± 5360 ng/ml (2484–24,000) in preeclampsia patients, controls and healthy pregnant women, respectively. Amphiregulin levels were significantly lower in preeclampsia patients than healthy pregnant women (p=.008) and controls (p = .015). Amphiregulin levels were similar between healthy controls and healthy pregnant women (p = 1.00). Cerebellin-1 levels were 222.039 ± 92.681 pg/ml (138,580–557,757) in preeclamptic patients, 537.043 ± 525.117 pg/ml (150,432–1,600,000) in controls and 415.091 ± 436.580 pg/ml (137,284–1,600,000) in healthy pregnant women. Cerebellin-1 levels were similar among groups (p = .272). Serum amphiregulin and cerebellin-1 levels were significantly and positively correlated with each other in preeclampsia patients (r = 0.693, p < .001), controls (r = 0.882, p < .001), and healthy pregnant women (r = 0.591, p = .001). Serum level of amphiregulin ≤3590 pg/ml had a sensitivity of 67.9% and specificity of 63.3% in the diagnosis of preeclampsia (AUC: 0.751; p = .001). Conclusions Serum amphiregulin decreases in severe preeclampsia patients.