Measurement of maternal and fetal circulating hepatocyte growth factor(HGF) in preeclampsia

Objective To investigate the changes of hepatocyte growth factor(HGF)in maternal and fetal circulation of patients with preeclampsia.Methods The concentration of maternal and fetal circulating HGF in 33 preeclampsia patients(PE group)and 32 normal pregnancies(control group)were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results The HGF levels in peripheral serum of PE group [(142.9±87.64)pg/ml] were significantly lower than those in controls [(207.6±110.55)pg/ml](P0.05).The differences in fetal circulating HGF levels between two groups were not significant [(13.2±6.28)pg/ml and(16.5±8.22)pg/ml respectively](P0.05).Both in mild and severe preeclampsia,the concentrations of HGF in maternal and fetal circulation had no significant differences(P0.05).Conclusions The levels of maternal circulating HGF are decreased in disease of Preeclampsia,which suggests that HGF may have important role in pathogenesis of preeclampsia.