Among these factors, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is highly expressed in terminal villous capillaries and adjacent trophoblasts and plays an important role in histopathological changes in placentas of women with diabetes.(26,27) At the molecular level, PD placentas present similar patterns of VEGF and VEGF receptor (VEGFR) reactivity to those in normoglycemic placentas. This evidence concerns the gene KDR and diabetes mellitus.