Pre-eclampsia: Increased, unchanged, and decreased serum markers in comparison to healthy third trimester pregnancy: A synopsis

Inconsistent serum concentrations have been reported for several markers in women with pre-eclampsia, which can be explained by the complexity of the disease and resulting heterogeneity in the study groups. We have thus decided to compare a large number of established and new placental, non-placental, and mixed-origin markers in the same, small but well-defined group of late-onset pre-eclampsia sera, matched with an identical number (19) of controls. The proteins were quantified in one batch (microplate) using commercially available or in-house enzyme immunoassays. The most significant differences between cases and controls were observed for placenta growth factor (PLGF, strongest reduction) and activin A (strongest increase), while others were less strongly affected or did not significantly differ between the two groups. Serum levels of a number of markers were positively or negatively correlated to each other, but no general difference between placental or non-placental markers was observed.