Serum amphiregulin and cerebellin-1 levels in severe preeclampsia

Abstract

Purpose: Preeclampsia is a form of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and defined as the presence of new-onset hypertension and proteinuria or other end organ damage occurring after 20-week gestation. Preeclampsia can be a destructive process that can cause maternal and infant mortality. The exact etiopathogenesis of preeclampsia is still undefined. We aimed to compare serum amphiregulin and cerebellin-1 levels of severe preeclampsia patients with healthy pregnant women and healthy control subjects. Materials and methods: A total of 88 women were enrolled in this study. Patients diagnosed with severe preeclampsia were group 1 (n?=?28), healthy non-pregnant normotensive women group 2 (n?=?30), and healthy pregnant women group 3 (n?=?30). The participants in each group were matched for age. Pregnant women in groups 1 and 3 were also matched for gestational age. Serum amphiregulin and cerebellin-1 levels were measured using ELISA. Results: Serum amphiregulin levels were 3413???1.38?ng/ml (1748?7739), 8510???7213?ng/ml (2019?24,000), and 6580???5360?ng/ml (2484?24,000) in preeclampsia patients, controls and healthy pregnant women, respectively. Amphiregulin levels were significantly lower in preeclampsia patients than healthy pregnant women (p=.008) and controls (p?=?.015). Amphiregulin levels were similar between healthy controls and healthy pregnant women (p??=??1.00). Cerebellin-1 levels were 222.039???92.681?pg/ml (138,580?557,757) in preeclamptic patients, 537.043???525.117?pg/ml (150,432?1,600,000) in controls and 415.091???436.580?pg/ml (137,284?1,600,000) in healthy pregnant women. Cerebellin-1 levels were similar among groups (p?=?.272). Serum amphiregulin and cerebellin-1 levels were significantly and positively correlated with each other in preeclampsia patients (r??=??0.693, p?<?.001), controls (r??=??0.882, p?<?.001), and healthy pregnant women (r??=??0.591, p?=?.001). Serum level of amphiregulin ?3590?pg/ml had a sensitivity of 67.9% and specificity of 63.3% in the diagnosis of preeclampsia (AUC: 0.751; p?=?.001). Conclusions: Serum amphiregulin decreases in severe preeclampsia patients.