Positive correlations between circulating adiponectin and MMP2 in preeclampsia pregnant.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of the present study were to compare plasma concentrations of the adiponectin, leptin, metalloproteinases (MMP9 and MMP2) and its tissue inhibitors (TIMP1 and TIMP2) in preeclamptic (PE) and healthy pregnant (HP) groups and correlate them. METHODS: A total of 105 pregnant women with pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) values ⩽ 30 kg/m(2) were enrolled for this study (59 PE and 46 HP). Biomarkers were measured using ELISAs. RESULTS: Adiponectin (32%), leptin (45%), MMP2 (20%), TIMP1 (31%) and TIMP2 (23%) levels were higher in PE compared to HP (all P < 0.05). In addition there were positive correlations between adiponectin and MMP2 (r = 0.33; P = 0.03) and adiponectin and TIMP2 (r = 0.33; P = 0.03) in PE group, but not in HP. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that adiponectin, leptin, MMP2, TIMP1 and TIMP2 levels are increased in PE and adiponectin may contribute to higher levels of MMP2 and TIMP2 in this disease.

Correlations between circulating levels of adipokines and anti-angiogenic factors in women with BMI <30 and a late-onset preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-specific disease, directly related to high rates of maternal-fetal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Upregulation of anti-angiogenic factors (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1; sFLT-1 and soluble endoglin; sENG) have been suggested to trigger the maternal endothelial dysfunction observed in PE. Studies focusing on the role of adiponectin and leptin, in normal pregnancy as well as in complicated pregnancies, have revelated interesting findings due to the vascular actions of such adipokines. The aims of this study were to compare plasma concentrations of the adiponectin, leptin, sENG and sFLT-1 in preeclamptic (PE, n = 27) and healthy pregnant (HP, n = 36) and to evaluate possible correlations among these adipokines and anti-angiogenic factors. There were significant increases in all biomarkers in PE compared to HP (all p < 0.05). In PE group, there were positive strong correlations among adiponectin and leptin with sFLT-1 (r = 0.85 and r = 0.47, respectively) and sEng (r = 0.74 and r = 0.56, respectively). Moreover, we observed significantly correlation among body mass index (BMI) with adiponectin (r = -0.40) and with leptin (r = 0.51) in HP, but not in PE. Moreover, while a negative correlation between sFLT-1 and BMI (r = -0.60) was found in PE, no correlation was observed regarding sEng and BMI. In summary, our findings suggest the existence of a compensatory mechanism that occurs in an attempt to correct this angiogenic imbalance in order to restore the fetal development.

Relationship between adiponectin and nitrite in healthy and preeclampsia pregnancies.

BACKGROUND: Controversial results have been reported regarding plasma adiponectin levels in preeclampsia (PE) compared to healthy pregnancies (HP). Adiponectin activates eNOS, increasing the levels of the vasodilator nitric oxide (NO). PE reduces the levels of nitrite (an NO marker) and induces higher levels of ADMA (an endogenous eNOS inhibitor) compared to HP. No previous study has examined whether a positive correlation exists between adiponectin and nitrite in HP and PE and how ADMA may interfere with this correlation. METHODS: We measured plasma nitrite concentrations using an ozone-based chemiluminescence assay, and plasma ADMA and adiponectin levels using enzyme immunoassays in 117 pregnant women (70 healthy and 47 preeclamptic). RESULTS: We found higher adiponectin levels (23.6±13.0 vs. 17.8±5.6µg/ml; P<0.05) and lower plasma nitrite levels (104.5±84.3 vs. 177.2±151.3 nM; P<0.05) in PE compared to HP. We found a significant positive correlation between these markers in HP (r=0.3; P<0.05), but no correlation in PE. However, when we grouped PE women regarding ADMA levels (low and high levels), a strong positive correlation was found in the group with lower ADMA levels (r=0.67; P<0.05), suggesting that high ADMA concentrations may interfere with the physiological activation of eNOS by adiponectin in PE. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed higher levels of adiponectin and lower nitrite levels in PE compared to HP, and these levels were positively correlated in HP and in PE presenting lower concentrations of ADMA.