Preeclampsia is a disease that occurs during pregnancy and is characterized by hypertension. In particular, early-onset preeclampsia (Eo-PE) that occurs before 34 weeks of pregnancy, is a serious pregnancy complication that threatens the lives of both mother and fetus. In the mother, severe cases are known to cause fluid leakage from blood vessels, leading to fatal complications such as generalized edema and pulmonary edema. However, the detailed mechanisms are not fully understood, and the fundamental remedy is to terminate the pregnancy by delivery.
A research team led by Lecturer Akira Yokoi at Nagoya University Hospital, focused on "LIMCH1," a protein thought to be involved in cytoskeleton and cellular contraction. They showed that placental-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing LIMCH1 may cause fluid leakage from blood vessels in Eo-PE. EVs are present in all human body fluids and draw attention as an important factor responsible for intercellular communication. The team extracted EVs from serum samples of normal and Eo-PE pregnant women and analyzed the differences in the proteins contained. They also analyzed the differences in RNAs in placental tissues and identified LIMCH1 as a protein specifically increased in Eo-PE placenta-derived samples. In a mouse experiment, they also confirmed that the tendency for vessel fluid leakage increases when vascular endothelium takes up LIMCH1-containing EVs.
These results provide new guidance for prediction of disease progression and treatment strategies in Eo-PE. In the future, this expected to lead to development of Eo-PE therapies targeting EVs and/or LIMCH1, in addition to the use of LIMCH1-containing EVs as new biomarkers.
(Text: Masanori Nakajo)
