ISSN:
1471-0528
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Objective To examine the behaviour of the major inhibitors of fibrinolysis (PAI-1 and PAI-2) in normal pregnancy and pregnancy complicated by either pre-eclampsia or hydatidiform mole.Design Prospective study.Setting Antenatal Clinic and Maternity Hospital.Subjects Eleven women with established pre-eclampsia and eleven women, matched by age, parity, and duration of pregnancy who were undergoing uncomplicated pregnancy. Two women having surgery for hydatidiform mole.Main outcome measure Plasma levels of PAI-1 and PAI-2 antigens determined by sensitive specific ELISA. Functional identification of PAI-2 by nondenaturing gel electrophoresis with overlay zymography.Results In pre-eclampsia PAI-2 antigen was significantly lower than in normal pregnancy (105.3 ± 34.9 versues 187.1 ± 67.9 ng/ml; P〈0.001). In contrast PAI-1 antigen was significantly higher in pre-eclampsia than in normal pregnancy (170.7 ± 71.2 versus 113.8 ± 35.6 ng/ml; P〈0.05). In consequence the ratio of PAI-1/PAI-2 increased markedly in pre-eclampsia (2.5 versus 0.6). No PAI-2 was detected in plasma of women with hydatidiform moles.Conclusions PAI-2 levels fell significantly in pre-eclampsia probably as a result of decreased placental mass or function. The raised PAI-1 level in pre-eclampsia may reflect a response to hypertension or renal damage that is not specific to pregnancy or may reflect altered placental function. The use of the ratio of PAI-1/PAI-2 assists in separating normal from abnormal pregnancies.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1993.tb12982.x
