Elevation of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in the placenta and blood in preeclampsia

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) levels in the placenta and blood in preeclampsia differed from those in normal pregnancies. Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) levels in the placenta were also measured. STUDY DESIGN: The subjects were 44 pregnant women carrying single fetuses, of whom 22 were women with normal pregnancies and 22 were women with preeclampsia. Their average gestational age at entry was 37 to 38 weeks of gestation. Peripheral blood was collected before the onset of labor. Separated serum was obtained after centrifugation and stored at -20 degrees C. A tissue segment of the placenta was cut immediately after delivery. The frozen placental tissue was placed into a plastic tube containing phosphate-buffered saline solution. The tissue was fully homogenized and then centrifuged. Separated supernatant was frozen at -80 degrees C for subsequent determination. GM-CSF levels in separated serum were measured, and GM-CSF, M-CSF, and total protein (TP) levels in separated supernatant were also measured. RESULTS: Not only GM-CSF levels in blood but also GM-CSF/TP levels in the placenta were significantly higher (P<.05) in preeclampsia than in normal pregnancies. Similar results were obtained for M-CSF/TP levels in the placenta. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated a significant increase in placenta levels of GM-CSF/TP in preeclampsia. Elevated GM-CSF in the placenta may be related to immunologic abnormalities contributing to the etiology of preeclampsia.