[The effect of tobacco smoking on serum concentration of selected angiogenic factors and somatomedin C in pregnant women and umbilical cord blood].

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of cigarette smoking on concentration of selected angiogenic factors (vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF, placenta growth factor PIGF) and somatomedin C (insulin-like growth factor-I) in blood of mothers and umbilical cord blood. The correlations between studied biochemical parameters and markers of estimated intensity of cigarette smoking as well as birth weight were also determined. Fifty healthy pregnant women were divided into two groups: smoking and tobacco abstinent group according to serum cotinine concentration. The current smokers were defined as those who had smoked 5 cigarettes per day for 2 years before conception and continued smoking during pregnancy. In the group of smoking mothers the mean serum concentration of cotinine was 91.6 microg/L and correlated positively with number of cigarettes daily consumed (r = 0.58, p < 0.01) as well as with time of smoking before conception (r = 0.40, p < 0.05). The mean serum concentration of PIGF in III trimester of pregnancy was significantly higher in the group of smokers than in non-smoking ones (p < 0.0001) and correlated with serum cotinine concentration (r = 0.41, p < 0.05) and number of cigarettes daily consumed (r = 0.58, p < 0.01). The concentration of serum VEGF was similar in both studied group. The mean serum level of IGF-I was significantly lower in group of smokers than in non-smokers in the I and III trimester of gestation (p < 0.01). Also in umbilical cord blood of smoking newborn the concentration of IGF-I was lower by 20% than in nonsmoking group (p < 0.05). We observed negative correlation between number of cigarettes daily consumed and serum level of IGF-I in blood of mothers as well as in blood of their children (I trimester: r = -0.43, p < 0.05; III trimester: r = -0.70, p < 0.001; umbilical cord blood: r = -0.45, p < 0.05). In both studied groups there were a positive correlation between birth weight and concentrations of IGF-I in blood of mothers and umbilical cord blood (group of smokers: mothers r = 0.43, p < 0.05, cord blood r = 0.50, p < 0.01; group of tobacco abstinent: mothers r = 0.51, p < 0.01, cord blood r = 0.41, p < 0.05). The birth weight of the smoking mothers' infants was lower by about 400 g (p < 0.01) and their birth body length by 1.5 cm (p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with number of cigarettes smoked per day (r = -0.55; p < 0.005). Our results indicate, that tobacco smoking during pregnancy increased serum PIGF levels in the final stages of gestation and has no effect on the concentration of VEGF, which may lead to an increase of trophoblast proliferation and uteroplacental dysfunction. Lower than in tobacco abstinent levels of IGF-I in serum of smoking mothers and in umbilical cord blood and their close relationship with birth weight, may suggests a direct effect of this factor on birth anthropometric parameters.