Abstract
The aim of the present study was to explore the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) in the maternal umbilical serum, placenta and decidua of patients with preeclampsia compared with those in normotensive pregnant females. A total of 73 pregnant females were recruited as the test subjects, including 43 inpatients with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and 30 normal pregnant females as the control. The 43 inpatients with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy included 18 patients with gestational hypertension, nine with mild preeclampsia and 16 with severe preeclampsia. MMP-1 and TIMP-1 ELISA kits were used to determine the MMP-1 and TIMP-1 levels in the umbilical serum of the parturient following delivery. MMP-1 and TIMP-1 expressed in the placenta and decidua of the parturient following delivery were evaluated using immunohistochemistry. MMP-1 and TIMP-1 were mainly located in cytotrophoblasts and syncytiotrophoblasts in the placenta and decidua. The levels of MMP-1 in the umbilical serum of the normal, gestational hypertension, mild preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia groups were 294.33±11.53, 247.78±20.32, 177.67±12.63 and 124.68±15.41 pg/ml, respectively, and there were significant differences between each two groups (P<0.05). The positive expression rate of MMP-1 in the placenta and decidua of patients with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy was lower than that of the controls (P<0.01 and P<0.01, respectively). However, no significant difference was identified between each two groups with regard to the levels of TIMP-1 in the umbilical cord and the positive rates in the placenta and decidua (P>0.05). Reduced MMP-1 levels in the umbilical serum, placenta and decidua were observed in women who developed preeclampsia.
Highlights
Preeclampsia is a multi‐system disorder of pregnancy characterized by hypertension, proteinuria and systemic vasoconstriction
This study explored whether reduced matrix metalloproteinase‐1 (MMP‐1) expression is associated with shallow trophoblast invasion and the pathogenesis of preeclampsia
The levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)‐1 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase‐1 (TIMP‐1) in the serum of the umbilical cord are listed in Tables II and III, respectively
Summary
Preeclampsia is a multi‐system disorder of pregnancy characterized by hypertension, proteinuria and systemic vasoconstriction. Vascular remodeling disorders of the uterine and placenta and placenta hypoperfusion have been generally recognized [2]. It appears that when trophoblasts invade into spiral arteries insufficiently in the early stages of pregnancy, this impacts the process of vascular remodeling, resulting in ischemia and hypoxia of the placenta and causing hypertensive disease in pregnancy. The role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the pathogenesis of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy has been the focus of much attention [3,4,5,6]. Further studies have detected that MMP‐1 is secreted from trophoblasts, which is an important factor in the regulation of trophoblast invasion [4,7,8,9]
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