Placental growth factor, an index for detection of women with preeclampsia

We aimed to investigate the correlation between placental growth factor (PIGF) expression in placenta of preeclampsia (PE) patients and PE symptoms. Between June 2013 and June 2015, a total of 141 placenta samples were selected from 141 gravidas who delivered in The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University. Among 141 gravidas, 50 healthy gravidas were regarded as the control group, 45 gravidas with mild PE were the MPE group and 46 gravidas with severe PE were the SPE group. Systolic pressure (SBP), diastolic pressure (DBP) on two occasions after 20 weeks of gestation and birth weight were recorded. PIGF expression and microvessel density (MVD) were detected via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunohistochemistry, respectively. SBP and DBP in the control, MPE and SPE groups were increased in turn; birth weight, PIGF expression and MVD in the control, MPE and SPE groups were decreased in turn. Correlation analysis showed that PIGF expression was negatively correlated with PE symptoms at peripartum, SBP and DBP, but positively with birth weight and MVD (all P < 0.05). Our results demonstrated that PIGF expression was negatively correlated with BP, and positively correlated with birth weight and MVD. Thus, PIGF can sever as a detection index of PE, which provides a direction for diagnosis and treatment of PE.