The role of steroid hormones in the development of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Early-onset intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy increased the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus: a retrospective cohort study

Background

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are two common pregnancy complications that pose considerable health challenges. The interplay between these conditions is believed to significantly influence pregnancy outcomes, yet the nature of this relationship remains elusive. This study was designed to elucidate the connection between ICP and GDM.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included 742 singleton pregnancies delivered at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center from January 2015 to December 2023. We compared the incidence of GDM and pregnancy outcomes between multiple ICP subgroups and a control group of healthy pregnancies. A multivariate regression model was used to measure the independent association between ICP and propensity for GDM development, as well as to assess the impact of potential bidirectional effects between ICP and GDM.

Results

The results indicate that the incidence of GDM is highest in the early-onset ICP (diagnosed before the 24th week of gestation) group compared to the control group and other ICP subgroups. Early-onset ICP is an independent risk factor for the development of GDM, with other risk factors including age, history of abortion, family history of diabetes, and elevated ALT levels. Subgroup interaction analysis did not reveal heterogeneity in the influence of early-onset ICP on the development of GDM across different subgroups. Further analysis showed that GDM itself does not increase the risk of late-onset ICP. Additionally, when comparing pregnancy outcomes between GDM patients with or without ICP, those with both GDM and ICP had significantly higher rates of preterm birth, cesarean section, and small for gestational age (SGA) compared to patients with GDM alone. Furthermore, elevated TBA levels (first diagnosed) of early-onset ICP patients were associated with an increased risk of GDM in a nonlinear fashion.

Conclusion

Our study indicated that early-onset ICP is significantly linked to an increased risk of GDM. Further research is warranted to explore the mechanisms behind this association and to develop strategies for early identification and intervention to mitigate GDM risk.

Bile Acids in Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is the most common, reversible, and closely related to pregnancy condition characterized by elevated levels of bile acids (BAs) in blood serum and an increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes. Due to the complex interactions between the mother and the fetus in metabolism and transplacental BAs transport, ICP is classified as a fetal-maternal disease. The disease is usually mild in pregnant women, but it can be fatal to the fetus, leading to numerous complications, including intrauterine death. The pathophysiology of the disease is based on inflammatory mechanisms caused by elevated BA levels. Although ICP cannot be completely prevented, its early diagnosis and prompt management significantly reduce the risk of fetal complications, the most serious of which is unexpected intrauterine death. It is worth emphasizing that all diagnostics and management of ICP during pregnancy are based on BA levels. Therefore, it is important to standardize the criteria for diagnosis, as well as recommendations for management depending on the level of BAs, which undoubtedly determines the impact on the fetus. The purpose of this review is to present the potential and importance of BAs in the detection and rules of medical procedure in ICP.

Circulatory Metabolomics Reveals the Association of the Metabolites With Clinical Features in the Patients With Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy

Objective: Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy to the mother and fetus. As yet, the metabolic profiles and the association of the clinical features remain obscure.

Methods: Fifty-seven healthy pregnant women and 52 patients with ICP were recruited in this study. Plasma samples were collected from pregnancies who received prenatal care between 30 and 36 weeks. Untargeted metabolomics to portray the metabolic profiles were performed by LC/MS. Multivariate combined with the univariate analysis was performed to screen out differential metabolites between the ICP and control groups. A de-biased sparse partial correlation (DSPC) network analysis of differential metabolites was conducted to explore the potential mutual regulation among metabolites on the basis of de-sparsified graphical lasso modeling. The pathway analysis was carried out using MetaboAnalyst. Linear regression and Pearson correlation analysis was applied to analyze correlations of bile acid levels, metabolites, newborn weights, and pregnancy outcomes in ICP patients.

Results: Conspicuous metabolic changes and choreographed metabolic profiles were disclosed: 125 annotated metabolites and 18 metabolic pathways were disturbed in ICP patients. DSPC networks indicated dense interactions among amino acids and their derivatives, bile acids, carbohydrates, and organic acids. The levels of total bile acid (TBA) were increased in ICP patients with meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) compared with those without MSAF. An abnormal tryptophan metabolism, elevated long chain saturated fatty acids and estrone sulfate levels, and a low-antioxidant capacity were relevant to increased bile acid levels. Newborn weights were significantly associated with the levels of bile acids and some metabolites of amino acids.

Conclusion: Our study revealed the metabolomic profiles in circulation and the correlation of the metabolites with clinical features in ICP patients. Our data suggest that disturbances in metabolic pathways might be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Management of Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy: Recommendations of the Working Group on Obstetrics and Prenatal Medicine - Section on Maternal Disorders

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is the most common liver disease specific to pregnancy. The cardinal symptom of pruritus and a concomitant elevated level of bile acids in the serum and/or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) are suggestive for the diagnosis. Overall, the maternal prognosis is good. The fetal outcome depends on the bile acid level. ICP is associated with increased risks for adverse perinatal outcomes, including preterm delivery, meconium-stained amniotic fluid, and stillbirth. Acute fetal asphyxia and not chronic uteroplacental dysfunction leads to stillbirth. Therefore, predictive fetal monitoring is not possible. While medication with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) improves pruritus, it has not been shown to affect fetal outcome. The indication for induction of labour depends on bile acid levels and gestational age. There is a high risk of recurrence in subsequent pregnancies.

Molecular Pathogenesis of Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disease. The maternal symptoms are characterized by skin pruritus and elevated bile acids, causing several adverse outcomes for fetuses, including an increased risk of preterm birth, meconium-stained amniotic fluid, neonatal depression, respiratory distress syndrome, and stillbirth. Genetic, hormonal, immunological, and environmental factors contribute to the pathogenesis of ICP, and the estrogen-bile acid axis is thought to play a dominant role. The advances in the past 10 years uncover more details of this axis. Moreover, dysregulation of extracellular matrix and oxygen supply, organelle dysfunction, and epigenetic changes are also found to cause ICP, illuminating more potential drug targets for interfering with. Here, we summarize the molecular pathogenesis of ICP with an emphasis on the advancement in the past 10 years, aiming to give an updated full view of this field.

[Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy]

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is the most frequent pregnancy-specific liver disease. It is characterized by pruritus and an accompanying elevation of serum bile acid concentrations and/or alanine aminotransferase (ALT), which are the key parameters in the diagnosis. Despite good maternal prognosis, elevated bile acid concentration in maternal blood is an influencing factor to advers fetal outcome. The ICP is associated with increased rates of preterm birth, neonatal unit admission and stillbirth. This is the result of acute fetal asphyxia as opposed to a chronic uteroplacental insufficiency. Reliable monitoring or predictive tools (e.g. cardiotocography (CTG) or ultrasound) that help to prevent advers events are yet to be explored. Medicinal treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) does not demonstrably reduce adverse perinatal outcomes but does improve pruritus and liver function test results. Bile acid concentrations and gestational age should be used as indications to determine delivery. There is a high risk of recurrence in subsequent pregnancies.

ERp29 inhibition attenuates TCA toxicity via affecting p38/p53- dependent pathway in human trophoblast HTR-8/SVeno cells

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a liver disorder occurred in pregnant women, and the mechanism for such disease is still unclear. The bioinformatics analysis of our previous study has revealed the abnormal expression of endoplasmic reticulum protein 29 (ERp29) in placental tissue of ICP patients. In this study, the function of ERp29 was further explored using in vitro model of ICP. The results showed that up-regulation of ERp29 occurred in TCA (taurocholic acid)-treated human trophoblast HTR-8/SVeno cells, and ERp29 inhibition reversed TCA toxicity via attenuating G2/M arrest and cell apoptosis. Mechanical study revealed ERp29 inhibition suppressed phosphorylation and kinase activity of p38, thus subsequently affecting expression and phosphorylation of p53 (ser18) as well as the transcriptional activity of p53. The conduction of this study might confirm the important role of ERp29 in ICP and which would be helpful for the development of target therapeutic method for ICP.

Relations of neuropeptide Y and heme oxygenase-1 expressions with fetal brain injury in rats with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

PURPOSE

To investigate the relations of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expressions with fetal brain injury in rats with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP).

METHODS

Sixty rats pregnant for 15 days were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The ICP model was established in experimental group. On the 21st day, the blood biochemical test, histopathological examination of pregnant rat liver and fetal brain tissues and immunohistochemical analysis of fetal rat brain tissues were performed.

RESULTS

On the 21st day, the alanineaminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and total bile acid levels in experimental group were significantly higher than control group (P<0.01). Compared with control group, there was obvious vacuolar degeneration in pregnant rat liver tissue and fetal brain tissue in experimental group. NPY expression in fetal brain tissue was negative in control group and positive in experimental group. HO-1 expression in fetal brain tissue was strongly positive in control group and positive in experimental group. There was significant difference of immunohistochemical staining optical density between two groups (P<0.01).

CONCLUSION

In fetal brain of ICP rats, the NPY expression is increased, and the HO-1 expression is decreased, which may be related to the fetal brain injury.

Population Scale Retrospective Analysis Reveals Potential Risk of Cholestasis in Pregnant Women Taking Omeprazole, Lansoprazole, and Amoxicillin

In nearly 50% of patients with drug-induced liver injury, the bile flow is impaired known as cholestasis. Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is the most common liver disease that happens in pregnancy. Some of the clinical symptoms include pruritus, dark urine, and abnormal liver function tests. A rise of serum bile acids is the most accurate diagnostic evidence. ICP may lead to premature birth, fetal distress, and even postpartum hemorrhage or stillbirth in some severe cases. Higher bile acid levels (> 40 μmol/L) are associated with higher rates of adverse fetal outcomes. Due to the multifactorial nature of ICP, its etiology is still not fully understood. Therefore, the current treatments of ICP are limited to control symptoms and protect fetuses. Among various causing factors, drug exposure during pregnancy is one common factor, and it can be prevented if we know drugs with increasing risk of cholestasis. Here we analyzed over 9.5 million FDA adverse effect reports to identify drugs with increasing risks of cholestasis as an adverse effect. Patients treated for cholestasis or liver diseases were removed. The odds ratio analysis reveals that lansoprazole (LSPZ), omeprazole (OMPZ) and amoxicillin (AMXC) are associated with an increased risk of cholestasis. LSPZ is associated with increased reported cholestasis by a factor of 2.32 (OR with 95% confidence interval [2.21, 2.43]). OMPZ is associated with increased reported cholestasis by a factor of 2.61 [2.54, 2.69]. AMXC is associated with increased reported cholestasis adverse effect by a factor of 6.79 [6.49, 7.11]. The risk of cholestasis associated with these three drugs is further increased in pregnant women. These findings justify careful reassessment of the safety of the three identified drugs.

Early Onset Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy: Is Progesterone Supplementation to be Blamed For?

Progesterone supplementation is a routine practice after intrauterine insemination and IVF-ET procedures. Progesterone is indicated in patients of PCOS and cervical incompetence. It also helps in prevention of recurrent unexplained miscarriages. Effect of a high dose of progesterone supplementation in causing earlier onset of Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) merits further focussed investigation.