sFlt-1 and Preeclampsia in Chinese Kazak and Han Pregnant Women During the Third Trimester of Pregnancy

Abstract

Objective: To explore the relationship between the soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (sFlt-1) and preeclampsia (PE) in Chinese Kazakh and Han pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy.

Methods: We enrolled 110 pregnant women who delivered in Obstetrics Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University between December 2015 and April 2016 and divided them into Chinese Kazakh pregnant women with PE (Kazakh PE group, n=25), Chinese Han pregnant women with PE (Han PE group, n=25), normal Chinese Kazakh pregnant women (normal Kazakh group, n=30) and normal Chinese Han pregnant women (normal Han group, n=30). We obtained the clinical data of all the participants. The level of sFlt-1 in the placental tissues was measured by qRT-PCR.

Results: The average weight of the Kazakh PE group was higher than that of normal Han group (P＜0.05). The average levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure were higher in the PE groups than in the normal groups (P＜0.05). Both PE groups had shorter gestational weeks than the normal groups (P＜0.05). The average neonates delivered by PE groups demonstrated lower birth weight compared with those delivered by the normal groups (P＜0.05). The average hemoglobin levels were found to be higher in Han groups than in the Kazakh groups (P＜0.05). PE groups presented higher average creatinine levels than the normal groups (P＜0.05). The expression level of sFlt-1 in the Han PE group was identified to be the highest (P＜0.05). Kazak PE group showed higher expression level of sFlt-1than the normal groups (P＜0.05). The expression level of sFlt-1 did not differ significantly between normal Kazak group and normal Han group (P＞0.05). The Kazak severe PE subgroup, Kazak mild PE subgroup, Han severe PE subgroup, and Han mild PE subgroup showed similar expressional levels of sFlt-1 (P＞0.05).

Conclusion: sFlt-1, a haematological marker, may be involved in the development of preeclampsia during the third trimester of pregnancy. PE can be identified by the expression level of sFlt-1, while the severity of PE can not.