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Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to elucidate the roles of platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH) in normal and hypertensive pregnancies.
Method: Changes in serum PAF-AH activity were investigated in 13 nonpregnant women, 168 normal pregnant women, 11 women in normal puerperium, and 35 pregnant women with preeclampsia (mild: 28, severe: 7). Serum PAF-AH activity was measured by the method of Stafforini et al.
Results: The serum PAF-AH activity of normal pregnant women between 5 and 34 weeks gestation was significantly lower than that of nonpregnant women, increasing after 34 weeks gestation and returning to nonpregnant levels within 1 month after delivery. In the pregnant women with mild preeclampsia at 28-41 weeks gestation, serum PAF-AH activity (28.0 ± 1.0 nmol/ min/mL, mean ± SEM, n = 28) was significantly (P < 0.01) higher than that in gestational-age-matched normal pregnant women (21.3 ± 0.8 nmol/min/mL, n = 73). However, in the pregnant women with severe preeclampsia, the activity (12.5 ± 3.9 nmol/min/mL, n = 7) was significantly lower (P < 0.01). Three of 7 severe preeclamptic patients showed extraordinarily low PAF-AH activity even before the onset of preeclampsia.
Conclusion: We found remarkable differences between the serum PAF-AH levels in mild and severe preeclampsia. In mild preeclampsia, the increased PAF-AH activity may play a role in regulation of the local PAF concentration. On the other hand, some of the women with severe preeclampsia showed extraordinarily low PAF-AH activity, suggesting that such a regulatory mechanism of local PAF concentration may not operate in the patients.