Correlation between N-terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide, corin, and target organ damage in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

The objective was to evaluate the correlation between N-terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (NT-proANP), corin and the severity of target organ injury in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. A total of 78 women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and 49 normotensive pregnancies were enrolled. The clinical characteristics, laboratory index and echocardiogram results were collected. NT-proANP, corin, sFlt-1 and PlGF levels were measured. A receiver's operating characteristics (ROC) curve was performed to evaluate the efficacy of predicting target organ injury in the HDP group. The NT-proANP, corin, and sFlt-1/PlGF ratio were increased in the HDP group (p < .05). The area under the curve (AUC) predicted by NT-proANP and corin were larger than sFlt-1/PlGF ratio (0.779, 0.867, and 0.766, respectively). The creatinine and urine protein were significantly increased, while the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was dramatically decreased in the HDP group (p < .05 each). The left atrial diameter (LAD), left atrial volume index (LAVI), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWT), and left ventricular septal thickness (LVST) were larger in the HDP group (p < .001 each). The NT-proANP/corin levels were positively correlated with LAD, creatinine, and urine protein, and negatively correlated with eGFR in HDP group (p < .05 each). Multiple regressions demonstrated that NT-proANP was an independent risk factor of LAD and urine protein, and corin was an independent risk factor of creatinine and eGFR in HDP group. NT-proANP and corin may be reliable biomarkers for evaluating the severity of target organ damage in the hypertensive disorders of pregnant patients.