Differential expression of markers of oxidative stress and apoptosis in relation to serum ferritin levels in patients with pre-eclampsia

Jianying Yan,Qing Han,Lichun Chen,Zhuanji Fang,Jie Dong,Xiaoqian Lin,Lingling Jiang,Qinjian Zhang,Xu Lin,Xia Xu

doi:10.51441/biomedica/5-512

Abstract

Background and Objective: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive gestational disease appearing during second trimester of pregnancy. Free radicals are released by the placenta in this condition that may cause oxidative damage. This study was designed to determine the serum ferritin (SF) levels in maternal blood, fetal umbilical cord blood and placenta and the changes associated with oxidative stress as well as cell apoptosis to understand the pathogenesis of PE. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study recruited 60 pregnant females with severe PE and assigned into early and late onset PE groups. Another n = 60 cases of normal pregnant females with similar gestational weeks were selected in the control group. Maternal serum and fetal umbilical cord blood ferritin levels were determined by automatic biochemical immunoassay system. Reverse transcription real-time fluorescence, Western blot and colorimetry were used to determine mRNA expression levels of ferritin and ferritin heavy chain, relative expression of ferritin and superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde (MDA), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels, respectively. Results: Mean age was 30.89 &plusmn; 5.65 and 31.79 &plusmn; 5.06 years in early and late onset PE groups respectively. Serum uric acid and creatinine levels of both PE groups were significantly higher than the normal pregnant females. SF levels were also higher in the participants of PE groups. However, the mRNA and ferritin protein levels in placental tissue were significantly lower in PE groups while comparing to controls. The cleaved caspase-3 protein, GSH-Px and MDA levels were significantly higher in both PE groups (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: The alterations in factors related to oxidative stress and cell apoptosis in placental tissue may be helpful to understand the pathogenesis of PE and may provide potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of PE.

Highlights

Pre-eclampsia (PE) and eclampsia are the main causes of perinatal maternal and fetal death.[1]
High body mass index (BMI) was found in both PE groups (Table 1)
The neonatal outcomes, body weight of newborns belonging to both PE groups and control group were 1.80, 2.84 and 3.57 kg respectively

Summary

Introduction

Pre-eclampsia (PE) and eclampsia are the main causes of perinatal maternal and fetal death.[1] The overall incidence of PE and eclampsia accounts for 4.6% and 1.4% of the total pregnancies, respectively.[2] In some developed regions (Eastern Mediterranean), the incidence of PE is only 1.0%, whereas in Africa and Brazil it accounts for 5.6% to 7.5% respectively.[2,3] Hebei Province of China reports the incidence of mild and severe PE as 1.38% and 4.02% respectively based on the data of more than 30,000 cases.[4] The number of perioperative deaths caused by PE accounts for 0.02% of the total pregnancies.[5] In addition, the incidence of stroke, heart failure, and diabetes in pregnant females with PE is a predictive notion that cannot be considered pivotal till now.[6] The standard of diagnosis of PE is based on the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures after 20 weeks of pregnancy, dysfunctioning of maternal organs (like kidney, liver, blood, or brain) and/or limited fetal growth.[7]. This study was designed to determine the serum ferritin (SF) levels in maternal blood, fetal umbilical cord blood and placenta and the changes associated with oxidative stress as well as cell apoptosis to understand the pathogenesis of PE

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion