Levels of Endocan in Umbilical Cord Blood Samples of Pregnant Females With Intrauterine Growth Retardation

As a proteoglycan secreted from endothelial cells, expression, and secretion of endocan increases in the endothelium of several tissues secondary to inflammation. It can be regarded as an indicator of endothelial damage. Besides, it is both a target and a modulator of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway. Considering its action mechanisms, it can provide information about angiogenesis, inflammation, and vascular permeability. It is known that intrauterine growth retardation mainly occurs as a result of endothelial dysfunction and abnormal angiogenesis in the placenta. In previous studies, maternal serum endocan levels have also been shown to be increased in cases of preeclampsia, which is mainly characterized by placental dysfunction.So, we hypothesize that there may be an association between endocan levels and intrauterine growth retardation.