Wright State lab finds a possible driver of severe early-onset preeclampsia: too many tiny particles in the blood
Women with severe early-onset preeclampsia had far more extracellular vesicles in their blood, and lowering the levels in lab tests reversed blood vessel dysfunction, Wright State researchers report in Hypertension. It is lab work, not a treatment.
Researchers at Wright State University in Ohio have identified a possible driver of severe early-onset preeclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy condition, the university said on 6 November. Women with the condition had far more extracellular vesicles, tiny particles released by cells, in their blood than women with healthy pregnancies. The findings were published in the journal Hypertension and chosen for its September cover.
It was the number of particles, not what they carried
The team isolated vesicles from pregnant women's blood and applied them to endothelial cells, the cells that line blood vessels. When they lowered the vesicle levels to normal, the blood vessel dysfunction linked to preeclampsia went away. Raising vesicle levels in samples from healthy pregnancies produced the same dysfunction. That pointed to the number of vesicles rather than their contents, and a tenfold reduction was needed to restore normal function in the lab.
“It was so exciting,” said Thomas L. Brown, who led the team. The group includes David Dhanraj, Traci Rackett, Rose Maxwell and Scout Bowman-Gibson, a dual M.D./Ph.D. student the university credits with driving the project forward. Premier Health and Wright State's OB-GYN department obtain patient consent and collect the blood samples.
What this means for patients now
Nothing changes for patients yet. This is laboratory work with blood samples and cells. No treatment was tested, the university does not describe a safe way to lower vesicle levels in patients, and it does not give the number of participants. The researchers' idea is to remove excess vesicles from a patient's blood rather than use a drug, because few treatments are safe during pregnancy. That method is at an early stage.
The goal: getting past 34 weeks
The target is to safely extend pregnancies with severe early-onset preeclampsia past 34 weeks, when outcomes improve significantly. Brown described the patients the work targets: “Those are the ones that put the moms and the babies at the most risk,” Brown said. The university gave no timeline for testing in patients. More early-stage work is collected under medical research.
Not medical advice. This article reports on research and health programs for general information. Results from early studies often change in larger trials. Talk to a doctor before making decisions about your own health or treatment.
Sources
- Wright State University · webapp2.wright.edu
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