Expression of TGF-betal in placenta of the patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension and its relationship with serum VCAM-1

Combined Effects of Methyldopa and Baicalein or Scutellaria baicalensis Roots Extract on Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Expression of Inflammatory and Vascular Disease-Related Factors in Spontaneously Hypertensive Pregnant Rats

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of baicalein or Scutellaria baicalensis root extract interaction with methyldopa in pregnant spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) at the pharmacodynamic, molecular, and biochemical levels. The rats, after confirming pregnancy, received baicalein (200 mg/kg/day, p.o.) and extract (1000 mg/kg/day, p.o.), in combination with methyldopa (400 mg/kg/day; p.o.), for 14 consecutive days, 1 h before blood pressure and heart rate measurements. In the heart and placenta from mothers after giving birth to their offspring, mRNA expression of factors related to inflammatory processes (TNF-α, Il-1β, IL-6) and vascular diseases (TGF-β, HIF-1α, VEGF, PlGF) was measured. Levels of markers of oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde) in the placenta and indicators of myocardial damage (troponin cTnC and cTnI, creatine kinase, myoglobin, and lactate dehydrogenase) in the heart were also assessed. Baicalein co-administered with methyldopa was associated with reduced blood pressure, especially during the first three days. The interactions were more pronounced for such factors as TGF-β, HIF-1α, VEGF, and PlGF than TNF-α, Il-1β, and IL-6. Combined application of baicalein and extract with methyldopa may be of value in the development of a new antihypertensive medication intended for patients suffering from preeclampsia or pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Combined Effects of Methyldopa and Flavonoids on the Expression of Selected Factors Related to Inflammatory Processes and Vascular Diseases in Human Placenta Cells-An In Vitro Study

The aim of the study was to investigate combined effects of flavonoids (apigenin, baicalein, chrysin, quercetin, and scutellarin) and methyldopa on the expression of selected proinflammatory and vascular factors in vitro for prediction of their action in pregnancy-induced hypertension. The research was conducted on a trophoblast-derived human choriocarcinoma cell line and a primary human umbilical vein endothelial cell line. Cytotoxicity of compounds in selected concentrations (20, 40, and 100 µmol) was measured using the MTT test and the concentration of 40 µmol was selected for further analysis. Subsequently, their effects with methyldopa on the expression of selected markers responsible for inflammation (TNF-α; IL-1β; IL-6) and vascular effects (hypoxia-inducible factor 1α—HIF-1α; placental growth factor—PIGF; transforming growth factor β—TGF-β; vascular endothelial growth factor—VEGF) at the mRNA and protein levels were assessed. It was found that every combined administration of a flavonoid and methyldopa in these cells induced a down-regulating effect on all tested factors, except PIGF, especially at the mRNA expression level. As hypertension generally raises TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, HIF-1α, TGF-β, and VEGF mRNA expression and/or protein levels, the results obtained in the studied model may provide a positive prognostic factor for such activity in vivo.