%0 Journal Article
%T Low VEGF expression in conceptus material and maternal serum AFP and ¦Â-hCG levels as indicators of defective angiogenesis in first-trimester miscarriages
%A G¨¹l£¿en Kutluer
%A Nedim Mahmut £¿i£¿ek
%A £¿zlem Moralo£¿lu
%A Pervin Ertarg£¿n
%J Journal of the Turkish-German Gynecological Association
%D 2012
%I Aves Yayincilik
%X Objective: The aims of this study were to assess the relationship between early miscarriages and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and to determine the serum levels of first-trimester maternal alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human chorionic gonadotropin (¦Â-hCG) as markers of angiogenesis and predictors of abortion and intrauterine fetal loss.Material and Methods: The present study was a prospective, single-center, randomized controlled clinical trial. Ninety-five women who were 6-10 weeks pregnant between May and June 2010 were included in the study. The subjects were divided into three groups, i.e., incomplete abortion (IA) (n=31), intrauterine death (IU-D) (n=32) and control (elective pregnancy termination) (n=32). Feto-placental materials were compared based on immune staining for VEGF in the pathology laboratory, and maternal serum samples were tested in the hormone laboratory. Results: Serum ¦Â-hCG levels in the patient groups were significantly lower than the controls (p=0.001). The serum AFP level was lower than the controls in the IA group while it was higher than the controls in the IU-D (p=0.016). Immunohistochemistry showed that the cytotrophoblast, syncytiotrophoblast and endometrial gland epithelium were weakly stained for VEGF in the patient groups (IA and IU-D) in comparison to the control group (p=0.06, p=0.028, p=0.006). Conclusion: Early pregnancy losses are related to insufficient angiogenesis, and maternal serum AFP and ¦Â-hCG can be used as markers of angiogenesis in the first trimester.
%K Abortion
%K implantation
%K angiogenesis
%K VEGF
%K ¦Â-hCG
%K AFP
%U http://www.jtgga.org/jvi.asp?pdir=jtgga&plng=eng&un=JTGGA-92693&look4=