Is there a link between endothelial dysfunction, coagulation activation and nitric oxide synthesis in preeclampsia?

Abstract

Background: There may be a relationship between endothelial dysfunction, coagulation activation and nitric oxide (NO) synthesis in women with mild and severe preeclampsia (PE).

Methods: Plasma thrombomodulin (TM), D-Dimer (D-Di), cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) and placental nitric oxide synthase activity (NOS) were investigated in 21 normotensive pregnant women (G1), 22 pregnant women with mild PE (G2) and 20 pregnant women with severe PE (G3).

Results: TM and D-Di were significantly increased in G3 compared to G1 (P=0.001 and P=0.006, respectively) and G2 (P=0.001, in both cases). However, there was no significant difference when G1 was compared to G2. For total NOS, calcium independent NOS, calcium dependent NOS no significant difference was observed among the groups studied.

Conclusions: TM and D-Di levels are raised in women with severe PE compared to normotensive pregnant women and women with mild PE. While increased TM levels may reflect endothelial dysfunction, raised D-Di levels indicate a hypercoagulable state. NO assessed by 2 indirect methods did not show any significant difference among the groups studied. Due to current limitations with in vitro NO measurements and interferences associated with NO bioavailability, particularly in PE, such findings should not be over-interpreted.