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Differences and similarities in endothelial and angiogenic profiles of preeclampsia and COVID-19 in pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2022; 227:277.e1-277.e16. [PMID: 35351411 PMCID: PMC8957356 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.03.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Background COVID-19 presents a spectrum of signs and symptoms in pregnant women that might resemble preeclampsia. Differentiation between severe COVID-19 and preeclampsia is difficult in some cases. Objective To study biomarkers of endothelial damage, coagulation, innate immune response, and angiogenesis in preeclampsia and COVID-19 in pregnancy in addition to in vitro alterations in endothelial cells exposed to sera from pregnant women with preeclampsia and COVID-19. Study Design Plasma and sera samples were obtained from pregnant women with COVID-19 infection classified into mild (n=10) or severe (n=9) and from women with normotensive pregnancies as controls (n=10) and patients with preeclampsia (n=13). A panel of plasmatic biomarkers was assessed, including vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, soluble tumor necrosis factor-receptor I, heparan sulfate, von Willebrand factor antigen (activity and multimeric pattern), α2-antiplasmin, C5b9, neutrophil extracellular traps, placental growth factor, soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1, and angiopoietin 2. In addition, microvascular endothelial cells were exposed to patients’ sera, and changes in the cell expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 on cell membranes and von Willebrand factor release to the extracellular matrix were evaluated through immunofluorescence. Changes in inflammation cell signaling pathways were also assessed by of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation. Statistical analysis included univariate and multivariate methods. Results Biomarker profiles of patients with mild COVID-19 were similar to those of controls. Both preeclampsia and severe COVID-19 showed significant alterations in most circulating biomarkers with distinctive profiles. Whereas severe COVID-19 exhibited higher concentrations of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, soluble tumor necrosis factor-α receptor I, heparan sulfate, von Willebrand factor antigen, and neutrophil extracellular traps, with a significant reduction of placental growth factor compared with controls, preeclampsia presented a marked increase in vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and soluble tumor necrosis factor-α receptor I (significantly increased compared with controls and patients with severe COVID-19), with a striking reduction in von Willebrand factor antigen, von Willebrand factor activity, and α2-antiplasmin. As expected, reduced placental growth factor, increased soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 and angiopoietin 2, and a very high soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 to placental growth factor ratio were also observed in preeclampsia. In addition, a significant increase in C5b9 and neutrophil extracellular traps was also detected in preeclampsia compared with controls. Principal component analysis demonstrated a clear separation between patients with preeclampsia and the other groups (first and second components explained 42.2% and 13.5% of the variance), mainly differentiated by variables related to von Willebrand factor, soluble tumor necrosis factor-receptor I, heparan sulfate, and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1. Von Willebrand factor multimeric analysis revealed the absence of von Willebrand factor high-molecular-weight multimers in preeclampsia (similar profile to von Willebrand disease type 2A), whereas in healthy pregnancies and COVID-19 patients, von Willebrand factor multimeric pattern was normal. Sera from both preeclampsia and severe COVID-19 patients induced an overexpression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and von Willebrand factor in endothelial cells in culture compared with controls. However, the effect of preeclampsia was less pronounced than the that of severe COVID-19. Immunoblots of lysates from endothelial cells exposed to mild and severe COVID-19 and preeclampsia sera showed an increase in p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation. Patients with severe COVID-19 and preeclampsia were statistically different from controls, suggesting that both severe COVID-19 and preeclampsia sera can activate inflammatory signaling pathways. Conclusion Although similar in in vitro endothelial dysfunction, preeclampsia and severe COVID-19 exhibit distinctive profiles of circulating biomarkers related to endothelial damage, coagulopathy, and angiogenic imbalance that could aid in the differential diagnosis of these entities.
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Docheva N, Romero R, Chaemsaithong P, Tarca AL, Bhatti G, Pacora P, Panaitescu B, Chaiyasit N, Chaiworapongsa T, Maymon E, Hassan SS, Erez O. The profiles of soluble adhesion molecules in the "great obstetrical syndromes" . J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2018; 32:2113-2136. [PMID: 29320948 DOI: 10.1080/14767058.2018.1427058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine the profiles of maternal plasma soluble adhesion molecules in patients with preeclampsia, small-for-gestational-age (SGA) fetuses, acute pyelonephritis, preterm labor with intact membranes (PTL), preterm prelabor rupture of the membranes (preterm PROM), and fetal death. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine maternal plasma concentrations of sE-selectin, sL-selectin, and sP-selectin as well as sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, and sPECAM-1 in patients with (1) an uncomplicated pregnancy (control, n = 100); (2) preeclampsia (n = 94); (3) SGA fetuses (in women without preeclampsia/hypertension, n = 45); (4) acute pyelonephritis (n = 25); (5) PTL (n = 53); (6) preterm PROM (n = 24); and (7) fetal death (n = 34). Concentrations of soluble adhesion molecules and inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-8) were determined with sensitive and specific enzyme-linked immunoassays. RESULTS In comparison to women with a normal pregnancy, (1) women with preeclampsia had higher median concentrations of sE-selectin, sP-selectin, and sVCAM-1, and a lower concentration of sL-selectin (all p values < .001); (2) patients with SGA fetuses had higher median concentrations of sE-selectin, sP-selectin, and sVCAM-1 (all p values < .05); (3) patients with a fetal death had higher median concentrations of sE-selectin and sP-selectin (all p values < .05); (4) patients with acute pyelonephritis had higher median plasma concentrations of sE-selectin, sICAM-1, and sVCAM-1 (all p values < .001); (5) patients with preeclampsia and acute pyelonephritis, plasma concentrations of sVCAM-1, sE-selectin, and sP-selectin correlated with those of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and interleukin (IL)-8 (all p values < .05); (6) patients with PTL had a higher median concentration of sP-selectin and a lower median concentration of VCAM-1 (all p values < .05); and (7) women with preterm PROM had lower median concentrations of sL-selectin and sVCAM-1 (all p values < .05). CONCLUSIONS The results of this study show that endothelial cell activation/dysfunction reflected by the plasma concentration of sE-selectin is not specific to preeclampsia but is present in pregnancies complicated by SGA fetuses, acute pyelonephritis, and fetal death. Collectively, we report that each obstetrical syndrome appears to have a stereotypical profile of soluble adhesion molecules in the peripheral circulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolina Docheva
- a Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit , MI , USA.,b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit , MI , USA
| | - Roberto Romero
- a Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit , MI , USA.,c Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , MI , USA.,d Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics , Michigan State University , East Lansing , MI , USA.,e Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics , Wayne State University , Detroit , MI , USA
| | - Piya Chaemsaithong
- a Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit , MI , USA.,b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit , MI , USA
| | - Adi L Tarca
- a Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit , MI , USA.,b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit , MI , USA
| | - Gaurav Bhatti
- a Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit , MI , USA.,b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit , MI , USA
| | - Percy Pacora
- a Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit , MI , USA.,b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit , MI , USA
| | - Bogdan Panaitescu
- a Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit , MI , USA.,b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit , MI , USA
| | - Noppadol Chaiyasit
- a Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit , MI , USA.,b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit , MI , USA
| | - Tinnakorn Chaiworapongsa
- a Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit , MI , USA.,b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit , MI , USA
| | - Eli Maymon
- a Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit , MI , USA.,b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit , MI , USA.,f Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Soroka University Medical Center, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev , Beersheba , Israel
| | - Sonia S Hassan
- a Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit , MI , USA.,b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit , MI , USA.,g Department of Physiology , Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit , MI , USA
| | - Offer Erez
- a Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit , MI , USA.,b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit , MI , USA.,f Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Soroka University Medical Center, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev , Beersheba , Israel
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