Circulatory soluble endoglin and its predictive value for preeclampsia in second-trimester pregnancies with abnormal uterine perfusion.

OBJECTIVE: Soluble endoglin (sEng) is increased dramatically in preeclampsia and acts synergistically with soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1) to promote the preeclamptic phenotype. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the sEng increase was present already in second-trimester pregnancies with abnormal uterine perfusion and whether the pregnancy was at risk for preeclampsia.

STUDY DESIGN: This prospective study includes 77 second-trimester pregnant women with abnormal uterine perfusion. sEng and sFlt1 were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS: Adverse pregnancy outcome was associated with higher sEng levels in the second trimester. SEng was highest in those pregnancies with early-onset preeclampsia. Combined analysis of sEng and sFlt1 is able to predict early-onset preeclampsia with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 93.3%.

CONCLUSION: Elevated sEng levels are detectable in second-trimester pregnancies with abnormal uterine perfusion and subsequent pregnancy complications. The concurrent measurement of uterine perfusion and angiogenic factors allows a highly efficient prediction of early-onset preeclampsia.