Diagnostic Values of Serum STAT4 and sEng Analyzed in Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, most often the liver and kidneys. Preeclampsia usually begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy in women whose blood pressure had been normal.

Preeclampsia can cause serious complications such as cerebral edema, pulmonary edema, cerebral hemorrhage, heart failure, coagulopathy, liver rupture, placental abruption, fetal growth restriction, and fetal death. It is one of the main causes of increased perinatal mortality.


Medical laboratorians at the Ningbo Mingzhou Hospital (Ningbo, China) enrolled 54 pregnant women with preeclampsia from October 2017 to June 2018 and 28 matched healthy pregnant women were set as the control group. The preeclampsia patients were included following the criteria: (a) age 20‐40 years; (b) hypertension, proteinuria, and edema; and (c) singletons, all of which are terminated by cesarean section and are healthy in the past.

The purpose of the study was to detect the levels of signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) and soluble endoglin (sEng) in preeclampsia patients and analyze the diagnostic values of STAT4 and sEng in preeclampsia. The team used the testing method of sEng and STAT4 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN, USA). The related clinical indexes of the pregnant women in each group were detected, including the prothrombin time (PT), fibrinogen (Fib), 24‐hour urine protein, serum creatinine (SCr), and alanine transaminase (ALT) within a week before delivery. The relationship between serum STAT4 level and pregnant women in the mild and severe preeclampsia groups was also analyzed.

The scientists reported that compared with control, the prothrombin time in preeclampsia was significantly lower, while the mean arterial pressure, 24‐hour urine protein, serum creatinine, fibrinogen, and ALT were significantly higher. The circulating levels of STAT4 and sEng were significantly increased in the preeclampsia. The circulating levels of STAT4 were statistically significant difference: 0.340 ± 0.062, 0.637 ± 0.159, and 1.513 ± 0.182 ng/mL in the control group, mild preeclampsia group, and severe preeclampsia group. The circulating levels of sEng in serum were 8.982 ± 1.089, 11.421 ± 1.330, and 13.152 ± 1.735 ng/mL in the control group, mild preeclampsia group, and severe preeclampsia group, with statistically significant differences. The serum levels of STAT4 and sEng in preeclampsia were positively correlated.

The authors concluded that both STAT4 and sEng have diagnosis values for preeclampsia, but the sensitivity and specificity of STAT4 were better than sEng, suggesting STAT4 can be used as a novel serum marker for diagnosis of preeclampsia, and thus postponed the development of the disease. The study was published on October 19, 2019, in the Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis.

Related Links:
Ningbo Mingzhou Hospital
R&D Systems