Placental autotaxin expression is diminished in women with pre-eclampsia.

Aim: Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a member of a new class of lipid mediators and exerts varied physiological and pathological functions. The secreted protein, autotaxin (ATX), is a key enzymatic determinant of local LPA production. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the potential involvement of the placental ATX-LPA system in pre-eclampsia (PE).