Níveis placentários e no cordão umbilical de fator de crescimento do endotélio vascular em gestações com pré-eclâmpsia e sua relação com desfechos maternos e fetais

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the levels of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in the placenta and umbilical cord and to evaluate their relationship with the presence of maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancies with preeclampsia (PE). Cross-sectional study carried out with pregnant women with and without PE. VEGF levels were obtained from placental and umbilical cord extracts using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which were compared according to maternal and fetal variables. Statistical analyzes were performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0, adopting an alpha equal to 5% and calculating the interaction p value to evaluate the difference between groups. One hundred pregnant women with PE and fifty without the disease were evaluated, with no statistical difference regarding placental and umbilical cord VEGF levels between these groups (p>0.05). However, there was statistical significance between placental VEGF levels and black race (82.412 pg/mL PE vs 788.183 pg/mL control, p=0.02) and low apgar at the 5th minute (1806.498 pg/mL vs 57.317 pg/mL, p= 0.01). The ratio between placental/umbilical cord VEGF levels was statistically significant with birth weight (p=0.04). Placental VEGF levels were related to maternal variables and fetal outcomes, however the ratio between placental/umbilical cord VEGF levels between the groups demonstrated that there is a possible adaptive mechanism between the levels of this marker and the different gestational tissues, in addition to having proved to be sensitive for detecting other outcomes associated with VEGF levels, emphasizing the importance of concomitant analysis between placenta and umbilical cord in pregnancies with PE.