Correlation of CXCR4/CXCR7 signaling pathway with pre-eclampsia

The possible role of C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4)/CXCR7 signaling pathway in pre-eclampsia (PE) was investigated to study the expression of CXCR4/CXCR7 in serum of PE patients and its correlation and relationship with PE. Twenty patients with mild PE and 40 cases with severe PE enrolled into the PE group and 60 cases of the normal pregnancy group during the same period were selected as the objects of study. The changes in expression of serum CXCR4 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and CXCR7 mRNA were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and CXCR4/CXCR7 protein concentration in serum was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The pregnancy termination time of gravid was earlier in the severe PE group than that in the normal pregnancy group (P<0.05); the mean arterial pressure (MAP), systolic pressure, diastolic pressure were higher in patients with mild and severe PE than those in the normal pregnancy group (P<0.05). The results of RT-qPCR showed that the mRNA expression of serum CXCR4 and CXCR7 in PE patients were distinctly higher than those in the normal pregnancy group (P<0.05). The expression level of CXCR4 mRNA was positively correlated with that of CXCR7 mRNA (r=0.567, P=0.02). The results of ELISA displayed that the content of CXCR4/CXCR7 in serum of patients with PE was remarkably higher than that in the normal pregnancy group (P<0.05); the expression of serum CXCR4/CXCR7 in patients with severe PE was higher than in those with mild PE (P<0.05). The expression level of serum CXCR4 protein was positively correlated with that of CXCR7 protein (r=0.563, P=0.01). The expression level of CXCR4/CXCR7 may be closely related to the formation of PE.