Pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia linked to decreased serum maternal level of pregnancy specific glycoprotein 1: Study

Pregnancy-specific glycoproteins (PSGs), known as Schwangerschafts Protein and pregnancy-specific beta 1 glycoproteins, are a family of soluble proteins released by the placental syncytiotrophoblasts during pregnancy. PSGs have been detected as early as 3 days post fertilization in the maternal serum, with the attachment of the blastocyst to the uterine wall, and then the level increases gradually and reaches to the level of 200 400 µg/mL in the third trimester, while in the fetal serum, its level does not exceed 1-2 µg/L. PSGs can control the secretion of proangiogenic factors, TGF-β1 and VEGF A, by various types of cell included in placental development. The provision of an immunomodulator environment and The stimulation of angiogenesis in the maternal–foetal interface indicate that PSGs are effective in progress of pregnancy and successful outcomes.

Studies Previously have revealed that the level of PSG is abnormal in complicated pregnancies and illustrate the role of this protein for protect healthy pregnancies so, it is clear that the PSG level in serum diminished with complicated pregnancy outcome abortion, ectopic pregnancy, fetal hypoxia and intrauterine growth retardation. This study aimed to detect the relationship between PSG levels and preeclampsia by comparing serum PSG levels between pregnant with preeclampsia and normotensive healthy pregnants, and since the PSG1 mRNA is fairly expressed highly compared with other PSGs in the pregnancy first trimester and in the term placenta.

A total of 90 pregnant women, whom were recruited during their antenatal care visits to the obstetrical department in Hospital, were included. They were divided into two groups: 45 women with diagnosis of preeclampsia and 45 controls who were the women with healthy pregnancy. Blood samples were collected from both groups and the measurement of pregnancy specific glycoprotein 1 was done using an enzyme immunometric assay.

The groups of preeclampsia pregnant women had markedly lower pregnancy specific glycoprotein 1 than the women with the uneventful pregnancies (p value < 0.001). Pregnancy specific glycoprotein 1 can significantly predict preeclampsia (P value < 0.001) with an odds ratio of 0.839 and 95% confidence interval of 0.763 – 0.924. By application of receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, it was observed that the cut-off value of pregnancy specific glycoprotien1 for predicting preeclampsia was 10.4 ng/ml with 77% sensitivity and 60% specificity, the area under the curve 0.728 with 95% confidence interval between 0.622 and 0.835, P value < 0.001).

This study had found that women with PE had significantly lower PSG1 levels than the women with the uneventful pregnancies (9.8 vs 14.3 ng/ml; p value < 0.001).

From the results of the present study, it could be concluded that pregnancies complicated by PE are associated with decreased serum maternal level of PSG1, and values <10.4 ng/ml can predict the development of PE with 77% sensitivity and 60% specificity. The abnormally decreased levels of PSG1 in pregnant women with PE might be a reflection of stressed or dysfunctional syncytiotrophoblasts, which is related to the pathogenesis of this placental disorder.

Source: Murad et al. / Indian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Research 2024;11(3):388–392;