Partial characterization of a novel growth factor from the blood of women with preeclampsia.

Abstract

Sera obtained before delivery from women with preeclampsia contain greater mitogenic activity than sera drawn from the same women 24-48 h after parturition or sera from normal parturients. These studies describe the initial characterization of the blood-borne mitogenic factor(s) from preeclamptic women which we have named ELMER (Endogenous Ligand conferring MitogEnic Response). ELMER appears to be a unique mitogen with characteristics that are not identical to those of other known growth factors. ELMER is present in serum as an acid- and heat-labile protein, approximately 160,000 daltons in size, which is a potent mitogen for human fibroblasts but not for human endothelial cells. Its presence in plasma suggests that it is a circulating factor rather than a product of blood coagulation ex vivo. We believe that ELMER represents a potential serum marker of preeclampsia and that it may play roles in the vasospasm and proliferative vascular lesion, termed atherosis, frequently associated with the preeclamptic syndrome.