ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine maternal plasma levels of hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α), soluble endoglin (sEng), and transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-β1) in preeclampsia. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 30 normal and 30 preeclamptic pregnant women during the third trimester of pregnancy. Plasma levels of HIF 1α, sEng, and TGF-β1 were measured by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The plasma levels were compared between preeclamptic pregnant women and normal pregnant controls. Correlation between 2 of these parameters were analyzed. Results: Median [interquartile range (IQR)] value of plasma HIF-1α level was significantly higher in preeclampsia (PE) group than that of normal pregnancy group, 37.10 (32.22-44.55) versus 31.09 (29.10-36.55) pg/ml, (p<0.01). The PE group had significantly higher plasma level of sEng than normal pregnancy group [Mean±SD: (14.02±9.05) versus (10.04±3.42) ng/ml, (p<0.05)]. However, there was no statistically significant difference in plasma level of TGF-β1 between PE group [Median (IQR): 4.69 (0.38- 12.04) ng/ml] and normal pregnancy group [Median (IQR): 2.17 (0.392-53.75) ng/ml]. There were no significant correlations between any two of plasma HIF-1α, sEng, and TGF-β1in all pregnant women. Conclusion: Plasma levels of HIF-1α and sEng were significantly higher in PE than that of normal pregnancy. The hypoxia and altered angiogenic balance may be involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.