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Transforming growth factor‐β1 does not relate to hypertension in pre‐eclampsia
Author(s) -
Hennessy A,
Orange S,
Willis N,
Painter DM,
Child A,
Horvath JS
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1440-1681
pISSN - 0305-1870
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1681.2002.03763.x
Subject(s) - placental growth factor , eclampsia , pregnancy , transforming growth factor , medicine , trophoblast , preeclampsia , endocrinology , gestational hypertension , placenta , biology , fetus , genetics
Summary 1. Pre‐eclampsia is a human disease of pregnancy characterized by high blood pressure, proteinuria and end‐organ damage, if severe. Pre‐eclampsia is thought to be related to changes in early placental development, with the formation of a shallower than normal placental bed. 2. Transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1 is a multifunctional fibrogenic growth factor involved in immune regulation that is elevated in some populations with a high risk of hypertensive end‐organ disease related to increases in endothelin release. Transforming growth factor‐β1 is also an important factor in placental implantation. Alterations in TGF‐β1 may be related to abnormal placental development in early pregnancy and, thus, are a candidate for the development of hypertension in pre‐eclampsia. 3. The aim of the present study was to examine the placental distribution and serum concentration of TGF‐β1 in patients with pre‐eclampsia compared with normal pregnancy. 4. Patients with pre‐eclampsia ( n = 12) were compared with patients with normal pregnancy ( n = 14). Transforming growth factor‐β1 was determined by TGF‐β1 Max ELISA (Promega, Madsion, WI, USA) after serum dilution (1/150) and acid activation. Placental distribution was determined by immunostaining with TGF‐β1 (Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA; 20 ng/mL) and the villi and decidual trophoblast were scored for intensity and extent of staining. 5. Patients with pre‐eclampsia had a mean gestational age of 36 weeks, whereas those with a normal pregnancy had a mean gestational age of 39.0 ± 0.4 weeks. There was no difference in TGF‐β1 concentration between the two groups (mean (±SEM) 27.1 ± 1.0 vs 26.4 ± 0.7 pg/mL for normal pregnancy and pre‐eclampsia, respectively; P = 0.73, Mann–Whitney U ‐test). There was no correlation between systolic or diastolic blood pressure and TGF‐β1 concentration (regression analysis P = 0.4 and 0.2). Immunostaining was absent in the villous trophoblast cells and endovascular and extravillous trophoblast of term placentas. 6. Although TGF‐β1 is present in trophoblast cells in early pregnancy during placental development, TGF‐β1 concentrations were not increased in the placenta at term in pre‐eclampsia and there was no correlation between blood pressure and serum TGF‐β1, suggesting that TGF‐β1 does not play a role in the development of late gestation pre‐eclampsia and hypertension.