Correlation between placental bed biopsy findings, vascular cell adhesion molecule and fibronectin levels in pre‐eclampsia

OBJECTIVE: To determine the correlation between placental bed biopsy findings, and blood levels of the vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) and fibronectin in pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, and to evaluate the relationship between these variables and severity of the disease. DESIGN: A prospective case-control study. SETTING: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul. SAMPLE: Thirty-five women with pre-eclampsia/eclampsia were compared with 25 healthy women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Twenty-one placental bed biopsies from pre-eclamptic pregnancies were compared with 17 from normal pregnancies. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Peripheral venous blood levels of VCAM-1 and fibronectin, measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay and radial immune diffusion technique. RESULTS: In pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, blood VCAM-1 and fibronectin levels were higher than in normal pregnancy. Levels of both fibronectin and VCAM-1 correlated significantly with the diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.49 and r = 0.65, P < 0.001). There was also a significant direct linear correlation between plasma fibronectin and VCAM-1 levels (r = 0.57, P < 0.001). Normotensive women all had normal placental bed biopsy findings and the incidence of pathological placental bed biopsy findings increased with the severity of the pre-eclampsia. CONCLUSION: Inadequate trophoblastic invasion of spiral arteries, and elevated levels VCAM-1 and fibronectin were found in women with pre-eclampsia. The magnitude of defective trophoblastic invasion, and blood levels of VCAM-1 and fibronectin correlate with the clinical severity of pre-eclampsia.