RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: preeclampsia is characterized by intense inflammatory response and an anti-angiogenic state. Maternal obesity has been considered to have important impact on the genesis of preeclampsia as lipotoxicity leads to maternal endothelial dysfunction and chronic inflammation. Here we investigate the plasma lipid profile of preeclamptic women. OBJECTIVES: identify possible lipid biomarkers for preeclampsia. METHODS: this study included 8 pregnant women with early-onset preeclampsia (before 34weeks gestation) and 8 normal pregnant women. Each patient in the preeclampsia group was matched to a patient in the control group according to gestational age at the time of sample collection. All patients in the control group were followed until term and had normal outcomes. To investigate the lipid profile, lipids were extracted from plasma samples using the Bligh-Dyer protocol and the extracts were subjected to MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry. Data matrix was exported for partial least squares discriminant analysis. All the variables analysed were sorted by a score number named Variable Importance in the Projection. The major discriminant variables were selected and underwent to Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: a total of 1290 ions were initially identified during lipidomic assessment. Twelve m/z signals were highlighted as the most important lipids for the discrimination of patients with preeclampsia. The identification of these differential lipids was carried out through Lipid Database Search. The main classes identified were Glycerophosphocholines [GP01], Glycerophosphoserines [GP03], Glycerophosphoglycerols [GP04], Glycosyldiradylglycerols [GL05] and Glycerophosphates [GP10]. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that some lipid species may be potential biomarkers for early-onset preeclampsia.
