Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-related multisystem disorder characterized by altered trophoblast invasion, oxidative stress, exacerbation of systemic inflammatory response, and endothelial damage. The pathogenesis includes hypertension and mild-to-severe microangiopathy in the kidney, liver, placenta, and brain. The main mechanisms involved in its pathogenesis have been proposed to limit trophoblast invasion and increase the release of extracellular vesicles from the syncytiotrophoblast into the maternal circulation, exacerbating the systemic inflammatory response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity in low- and middle-income countries, including those in Latin America. Placental vascular alterations are crucial in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia and few studies have evaluated nucleotide variations on genes associated with vascular regulation in the human placenta. This study aimed to evaluate whether placental nucleotide variations on eNOS, VEGFA, and FLT-1 genes are more frequently associated with preeclampsia in the Latin American population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAir pollution includes polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been correlated to endocrine disruptor pathways during early pregnancy. PAHs have been found in the placenta and cord blood, which may affect the hormones involved in placental development. We studied the effects of some airborne PAHs on beta human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) and progesterone production by using a syncytial BeWo cell line as a placental model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis is a case report of women with pregnancy morbidity (PM), some of them associated with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), in which the glycan patterns of immunoglobulin G (IgG) were investigated based on the theory of alteration of glycosylation in autoimmunity. We used lectin blot to determine changes in terminal glycosylation of polyclonal IgG from women with antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies and PM plus vascular thrombosis (PM/VT) and seronegative-obstetric APS (SN-OAPS). In addition, we analyzed IgG from women with PM without aPL (PM/aPL-) and healthy women, as controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew evidence suggests that glycan expression in placental cells of women with invasive disorders of pregnancy differs from that in normal pregnant women. Hypothesizing that modifications of glycan expression could account for the course of preeclampsia, we established placental villous histocultures and compared glycan expression in women with preeclampsia with that in normal pregnant women and also in syncytialized BeWo cells, and we tested the effect of glycan expression on the functional phenotypes of circulating natural killer (NK) cells. Histocultures of third-trimester placentae from women with preeclampsia and full-term placentae from healthy pregnant women and BeWo choriocarcinoma cells were assessed for the expression of terminal glycans by lectin-binding assays.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe presence of levonorgestrel (LNG) in water bodies via direct discharge and human excretion has been reported worldwide, but its effects on the reproduction of aquatic species and humans are still unknown. Owing to its recalcitrant properties, LNG is not completely removed during wastewater treatment plants, and many species may be exposed to low traces of this compound from discharged effluents. Thus, in this study, a photocatalytic process for removing LNG along with screening of endocrine disruptor effects for risk assessment was applied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To examine the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), TfR1, and TfR1-attached terminal monosaccharides in placentas of women with IDAP and severe preeclampsia.
Methods: TfR1 and HIF-1 were detected by western blot. Immunoadsorption of TfR1 was performed to characterize the terminal monosaccharides by specific lectin binding.
Context: Patients with antiphospholipid syndrome and alloimmunity have poor pregnancy outcomes. Several diagnostic and therapeutic options exist for these disorders, although there is no consensus as to the best treatment.
Case Report: We present here the clinical course and treatment of a woman with a history of two miscarriages who joined our program 10 years ago and has been followed up ever since.