The importance of some angiogenic markers in spontaneous abortion

Aim: In this study, the authors aimed to determine the serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietin-1 (ang-1) and angiopoietin-2 (ang-2) factors as indicators of placental angiogenesis and vasculogenesis in abortion cases. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in 40 women who were pregnant for 7-20 weeks and diagnosed with an incipient abortion and 40 pregnant healthy women with similar ages, gestational weeks, and body mass index (BMI) values. Serum VEGF, ang-1, and ang-2 levels were measured with ELISA methods. Results: The authors found that the serum VEGF levels were higher and ang-1 levels were significantly lower in pregnant women whose pregnancies failed with abortion, compared to control group. There was no significant difference in terms of ang-2 levels between groups. Conclusion: A strong relationship was found between VEGF and ang-1 early pregnancy loss, and significant changes of these factors may also be associated with the physiopathology of abortion incipience. Evaluating these factors may be benefical for prediction and designing of treatment modalities on spontaneous abortion.