Role of growth factors in preeclampsia: Early detection and treatment

Abstract

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific condition characterized by hypertension and proteinuria. It complicates about 10% of all pregnancies. It is a major cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Interestingly, preeclampsia may have an impact on the health of the mother or infant, beyond the pregnancy. It is believed that several ligands and receptors of different families of growth factors have been involved in the development of preeclampsia. We performed a systematic search of PubMed including combination of terms such as preeclampsia, growth factors, treatment, vascular endothelial growth factor A, activin A, inhibin A, placental growth factor, transforming growth factor β-1, Nodal, placenta, trophoblast cells, biomarkers and detection. In this review we have summarized current knowledge on the role of growth factors in early detection and treatment of preeclampsia. Although these growth factors have significant roles in normal and complicated pregnancies, the current value of these growth factors as biomarkers, for the precise prediction of preeclampsia, has its limitation. Therefore, future studies need to be done to support some of the very promising and interesting data to develop affordable and widely available tests for early detection and treatment of preeclampsia.