Background: Preeclampsia, a pregnancy disorder characterized by hypertension and proteinuria, represents the leading cause of fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality in developing countries. The identification of novel and accurate biomarkers that are predictive of preeclampsia is necessary to improve the prognosis of patients with preeclampsia.
Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of nine urinary metalloproteinases to predict the risk of preeclampsia development.
Methods: MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-7, MMP-8, MMP-9, MMP-10, MMP-12 and MMP-13 were analyzed in urine (early-pregnancy) from 17 women predicted to develop preeclampsia and 48 controls using the Bio-Plex Pro-Human MMP panel (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA).
Results: Urinary MMP-2 showed differences between groups which allowed us to calculate an increased risk for PE development of up to 20 times among the study population.
Conclusion: Increased urinary concentration of MMP-2 at 12 and 16 weeks of gestation predicted an increased risk of developing preeclampsia in the study population.
Keywords: Preeclampsia; angiogenesis; biomarkers; metalloproteinase; placenta; screening; urine.