The Effect of Preeclampsia Mother's Serum and Her Neonatal Cord Blood on the Activity of Soluble Adhesion Molecules (sICAM-1) and Apoptosis in Cultured Human Umbilical Venous Endothelial Cells (HUVEC)

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: It is proposed that endothelial cell dysfunction, a central pathogenic feature of preeclampsia is caused by circulating unknown factors produced by placenta in the blood of women with preeclampsia. In this study we investigated the effect of such factors in the serum from preeclamptic mother or her neonatal umbilical vein on the activity of sICAM-1 and apoptosis in cultured human umbilical venous endothelial cells. METHOD: Quantitive determinations of sICAM-1 and apoptosis were detected from isolated and cultured HUVEC supernatants which were incubated with serum samples for 48hours. The serum samples were collected from preeclamptic mother and her neonatal cord blood in pairs according to gestational age and were compaired to nonpreeclamptic control groups. RESULTS: sICAM-1 level was significantly higher in the maternal groups compared to corresponding cord groups (P<0.001). The preterm maternal group showed higher level than term maternal group (P<0.001). The preeclamptic preterm mother groups showed elevated level compared to other mother groups and the existence of preterm delivery affects sICAM-1 level more importantly than the existence of preeclampsia. In TUNEL stain preeclamptic preterm mother group showed increased number of apoptotic nuclei compared to other groups. The neonatal cord group of preterm preeclampsia showed no apoptotic body on cultured HUVEC. CONCLUSIONS: Unknown circulating factors in preeclamptic preterm mother activate expression of sICAM-1 and apoptosis in cultured human umbilical venous endothelial cells. But the fetal circulation may not be affected by the factor (s) that lead to disturbed endothelial cell function in women with preterm preeclampsia.