Expression levels of seven candidate genes in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and their association with preeclampsia

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) expression levels of hemeoxygenase 1 (HMOX-1), superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD-1), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-15 and AdipoQ genes to study their association with preeclampsia (PE). Methods: A total of 177 pregnant women were recruited: 108 cases and 69 controls. Quantification of gene expression was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using TaqMan probes. Results: Underexpression of VEGF-A and TGF-β1 was a constant in most of the cases (80.91% and 76.36%, respectively) and their expression was associated with onset and/or severity of disease (p values < 0.05). IL-6, IL-15 and AdipoQ, showed low or no expression in PBMC samples evaluated. Conclusion: PBMC underexpression of VEGF-A and TGF-β1 is a hallmark of PE in the study population.

• Preeclampsia
• Gene expression
• Mononuclear cells
• Angiogenesis
• Oxidative stress

Acknowledgments

We thank all the study participants. Also, the authors gratefully acknowledge the critical reading of the manuscript by María Guadalupe Ramos del Hoyo M. E.

This work was funded in part by FOMIX CONACyT-Gobierno del Estado de Zacatecas-121535 Grant, CB-SEP/CONACyT Grant-128567, and CONACyT-SSA/IMSS/ISSSTE Grant-138721, respectively.