Figure 14.

In preeclampsia, cytotrophoblasts produce higher levels of soluble VEGFR-1 (sVEGFR-1) in vitro as compared to control cells. Cytotrophoblasts were isolated from control first, second, or third trimester (TM) placentas or from the placentas of women whose pregnancies were complicated by preeclampsia (PE). Then the cells were cultured on Matrigel substrates for 48 hours. Quantification of sVEGFR-1 in the conditioned medium by ELISA showed that preeclampsia is associated with a significant elevation of cytotrophoblast sVEGFR-1 secretion as compared to control cells. Data are means and standard deviations of five experiments.