en Molecular Genetics & Genomics Molecular Genetics & Genomics مقاله کامل Full Length/Original Article <p><strong>Background:</strong> The use of biomarkers for diagnosis of Preeclampsia (PE), a life-threatening pregnancy disorder, could reduce serious complications of this disease. In this study, we investigated dysregulation of endoglin (Eng) expression and diagnostic accuracy of soluble endoglin (sEng) in PE patients. <strong>Methods:</strong> For this case-control study, 26 mild and 15 severe preeclamptic women along with 20 normotensive controls were recruited. The expression level of Eng (the co-receptor TGF-&beta;1) was evaluated using qRT-PCR. Also, the serum concentration of soluble Eng and expression of membranous Eng were determined by ELISA and immunohistochemistry. <strong>Results:</strong>&nbsp; A significant up-regulation in Eng mRNA and sEng levels was observed in PE patients versus normal controls. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) showed up-regulation of membranous Eng staining in syncytiotrophoblast and cytotrophoblast cells of PE patients. The serum levels of sEng were significantly increased in all patients (mild, sever, early- and late-onset) as compared to healthy pregnant women (<em>P</em>˂0.001). Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that sEng had the highest accuracy in distinguishing PE from normal pregnancies with cut-off value of 20.4, sensitivity of 92.1%, specificity of 90%, and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.94 (95% CI: 0.88-1.00). <strong>Conclusions</strong>: Our data showed that the up-regulation of Eng mRNA along with its membranous and soluble form in PE patients leads to defect in angiogenesis pathway. Also, the results of this study revealed sEng potential as a marker for diagnosis of PE and its severity.</p> Preeclampsia, Endoglin, Biomarkers, Pregnancy 312 320 http://ibj.pasteur.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-666&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Pooneh Nikuei Yes Molecular Medicine Research Center, Hormozgan Health Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran; Minoo Rajaei No Fertility and Infertility Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran; Kianoosh Malekzadeh No Molecular Medicine Research Center, Hormozgan Health Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran Azim Nejatizadeh No Molecular Medicine Research Center, Hormozgan Health Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran Fatemeh Mohseni No Molecular Medicine Research Center, Hormozgan Health Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran Ali AtashAbParvar No Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran