Objective: To study the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in placenta from normal pregnancy and pregnancy complicated with pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and the effect of VEGF on the etiology of PIH.
Method: Use the immunohistochemistry to determine the location and intensity of VEGF staining in placenta from 21 cases of normal pregnancy and 62 cases of mild, moderate and severe group of pregnancies complicated with PIH.
Result: Immunolocalization of VEGF in all cases was observed mainly in syncytiotrophoblast. Intensity of VEGF immunostaining in syncytiotrophoblast was significantly reduced in the moderate PIH group (P < 0.05) and the severe PIH group (P < 0.01) compared with both the mild PIH group and the normal group, while there was no qualitative differences between the mild PIH group and the normal group. Intensity of staining in decidual cells was also similar in all the groups.
Conclusion: These results suggest that VEGF is secreted mainly by syncytiotrophoblast in human placenta and the reduced VEGF may be responsible, at least in part, for the impaired vascular development in PIH.