Thrombin impairs the angiogenic activity of extravillous trophoblast cells via monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1): A possible link with preeclampsia

Glyphosate modifies the gene expression and migration of trophoblastic cells without altering the process of angiogenesis or the implantation of blastocysts in vitro

Adverse pregnancy outcomes have been associated with the presence of glyphosate (G) in umbilical cord, serum, and urine samples from pregnant women. Our aim was to study the effect of G on blastocyst implantation using an in vitro mouse model, and the migration and acquisition of endothelial phenotype of the human trophoblastic HTR8/SVneo (H8) cells. In mouse blastocysts, no differences in attachment time and implantation outgrowth area were observed after G exposure. H8 cell migration was stimulated by 0.625 μM G without cytotoxicity. After 6 h, the mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) was upregulated in H8 cells exposed to 1.25 μM G when compared vehicle-treated cells (p ≤ 0.05). No differences were observed in interleukin 11, VEGF receptor 1, and coagulation factor II thrombin receptor in H8 cells exposed to different concentrations of G for 6 h compared to the vehicle. Interestingly, exposure to G did not alter angiogenesis as measured by a tube formation assay. Taken all together, these results suggest that G exposure may contribute as a risk factor during pregnancy, due to its ability to alter trophoblast migration and gene expression.

Dietary Fatty Acids Contribute to Maintaining the Balance between Pro-Inflammatory and Anti-Inflammatory Responses during Pregnancy

BACKGROUND

During pregnancy, the balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses is essential for ensuring healthy outcomes. Dietary Fatty acids may modulate inflammation.

METHODS

We investigated the association between dietary fatty acids as profiled on red blood cells membranes and a few pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, including the adipokines leptin and adiponectin at ~38 weeks in 250 healthy women.

RESULTS

We found a number of associations, including, but not limited to those of adiponectin with C22:3/C22:4 (coeff -1.44; p = 0.008), C18:1 c13/c14 (coeff 1.4; p = 0.02); endotoxin with C20:1 (coeff -0.9; p = 0.03), C22:0 (coeff -0.4; p = 0.05); MCP-1 with C16:0 (coeff 0.8; p = 0.04); and ICAM-1 with C14:0 (coeff -86.8; p = 0.045). Several cytokines including leptin were associated with maternal body weight (coeff 0.9; p = 2.31 × 10^-5), smoking habits (i.e., ICAM-1 coeff 133.3; p = 0.09), or gestational diabetes (i.e., ICAM-1 coeff 688; p = 0.06).

CONCLUSIONS

In a general cohort of pregnant women, the intake of fatty acids influenced the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules together with weight gain, smoking habits, and gestational diabetes.

CCL2: An important cytokine in normal and pathological pregnancies: A review

C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL2), also known as monocytic chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), is an integral chemotactic factor which recruits macrophages for the immune response. Together with its receptors (e.g., CCR2, ACKR1, and ACKR2), they exert noticeable influences on various diseases of different systems. At the maternal-fetal interface, CCL2 is detected to be expressed in trophoblasts, decidual tissue, the myometrium, and others. Meanwhile, existing reports have determined a series of physiological regulators of CCL2, which functions in maintaining normal recruitment of immunocytes, tissue remodeling, and angiogenesis. However, abnormal levels of CCL2 have also been reported to be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as spontaneous abortion, preeclampsia and preterm labor. In this review, we concentrate on CCL2 expression at the maternal-fetal interface, as well as its precise regulatory mechanisms and classic signaling pathways, to reveal the multidimensional aspects of CCL2 in pregnancy.

PETN-Induced Antioxidative Properties in Endothelial Cells as a Target for Secondary Prevention of Endothelial Dysfunction in Pregnancy

The NO-donor Pentaerytrithyltetranitrate (PETN) has vasodilatative properties and direct protective effects on endothelial cells. We formerly demonstrated that PETN, given to pregnant women during the second and third trimester, influences endothelial dysfunction related pregnancy complications like preeclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR). PETN treatment showed to delay PE to late pregnancy and achieved a profound risk reduction for FGR and/or perinatal death of 40%. The aim of this study was to confirm the effect of PETN on endothelial cell dysfunction at molecular level in an experimental approach. To induce endothelial dysfunction HUVEC were treated with 10 U/l of thrombin in the presence or absence of PETN. qRT-PCR analysis showed that PETN induced the expression of heme-oxygenase-1 and superoxide dismutase two but not endothelial NO-synthase under basal conditions. The induction of antioxidant proteins did not change basal reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels as measured by MitoSOX™ staining. PETN treatment significantly delayed the thrombin-induced disruption of the endothelial monolayer, determined using the xCELLigence^® and attenuated the disrupting effect of thrombin on tubular junctions as seen in a tube-forming assay on Matrigel™. In western-blot-analysis we could show that PETN significantly reduced thrombin-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation which correlates with reduction of thrombin-induced ROS. These experimental results establish the concept of how PETN treatment could stabilize endothelial resistance and angiogenic properties in pregnancy-induced stress. Thus, our results underscore the assumption, that the shown clinical effects of PETN are associated to its endothelial cell protection.