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Maternal Vascular Dysfunction in Congenital Heart Defects

Yanli Liu1,2, Fengzhen Han2, Jian Zhuang4, Yanqiu Ou4, Yanji Qu5, Yanyan Lin2, Weina Zhang2, Haiping Wang3,*, Liping Huang1,*

1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
3 Prenatal Diagnosis Centre, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
4 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
5 Global Health Research Center, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China

* Corresponding Authors: Haiping Wang. Email: email; Liping Huang. Email: email

Congenital Heart Disease 2023, 18(5), 561-570. https://doi.org/10.32604/chd.2023.030511

Abstract

Background: Research on fetal congenital heart defect (CHD) mostly focuses on etiology and mechanisms. However, studies on maternal complications or pathophysiology are limited. Our objective was to determine whether vascular dysfunction exists in pregnant women carrying a fetus with congenital heart defects. Methods: We conducted a case-control study. 27 cases of pregnant women carrying a fetus with major CHD admitted to our hospital for delivery between April 2021 and August 2022 were selected. Every case was matched with about 2 pregnant complication-free controls without fetal abnormalities. The proangiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors and pregnancy outcomes were compared. Results: The proangiogenic factors include vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and placental growth factor (PlGF). The anti-angiogenic factors involve soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) and soluble endoglin (sEng). No differences were found in maternal plasma concentrations of PlGF, VEGF, and sFlt-1 between case-control groups when analyzed at 36 weeks ≤ gestational age (GA) < 39 weeks and 39 weeks ≤ GA ≤ 41 weeks. The concentrations of sEng in maternal plasma in the fetal CHD group were significantly higher than those in the control group: 0.60 (0.77) vs. 0.32 (0.26) ng/ml at 36 weeks ≤ GA < 39 weeks, p = 0.001 and 0.75 (0.55) vs. 0.28 (0.27) ng/ml at 39 weeks ≤ GA ≤ 41 weeks, p < 0.001. Conclusion: Vascular dysfunction exists in pregnant women with fetal congenital heart defects, manifesting significantly elevated sEng concentration at delivery.

Graphic Abstract

Maternal Vascular Dysfunction in Congenital Heart Defects

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APA Style
Liu, Y., Han, F., Zhuang, J., Ou, Y., Qu, Y. et al. (2023). Maternal vascular dysfunction in congenital heart defects. Congenital Heart Disease, 18(5), 561-570. https://doi.org/10.32604/chd.2023.030511
Vancouver Style
Liu Y, Han F, Zhuang J, Ou Y, Qu Y, Lin Y, et al. Maternal vascular dysfunction in congenital heart defects. Congeni Heart Dis. 2023;18(5):561-570 https://doi.org/10.32604/chd.2023.030511
IEEE Style
Y. Liu et al., "Maternal Vascular Dysfunction in Congenital Heart Defects," Congeni. Heart Dis., vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 561-570. 2023. https://doi.org/10.32604/chd.2023.030511



cc Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Tech Science Press.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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