Fasudil attenuates soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1)-induced hypertension in pregnant mice through RhoA/ROCK pathway.

Preeclampsia (PE) has become the leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality in the world, which is characterized by a systemic maternal inflammatory response associated with endothelial dysfunction, hypertension, and proteinuria. The development of PE is still barely predictable and thus challenging to prevent and manage clinically. Fasudil (FSD), the first-generation Rho/ROCK inhibitor, has been studied widely and applied in clinical practice with high safety and efficacy in treating hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. However, few studies have focused on the effect of fasudil on preeclampsia in vivo and in vitro. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of fasudil on hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in vitro and its role on preeclamptic animal model. Here, we found that RhoA/ROCK pathway was significantly activated in H/R-challenged endothelial cells and in placenta and umbilical vessel of PE mice. And fasudil pre-treatment can protect vascular endothelial cells from H/R-induced apoptosis. In addition, inhibition of RhoA/ROCK pathway with fasudil can reduce the high blood pressure and urine protein levels as well as the concentration of s-Flt in peripheral and umbilical blood in a dose-dependent manner, thus resulting in prevention of the development of PE. Thus, Fasudil attenuates soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1)-induced hypertension in pregnant mice through RhoA/ROCK pathway, which would become a potential strategy for PE therapy.

SIRT1 inhibits releases of HMGB1 and HSP70 from human umbilical vein endothelial cells caused by IL-6 and the serum from a preeclampsia patient and protects the cells from death.

Preeclampsia (PE), a pregnancy-specific disorder, is associated with inappropriate maternal inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and vascular endothelial cell dysfunction and damage. Releases of high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) and heat-shock protein 70 (HSP70) into serum are considered to participate in the pathogenesis of PE. The deacetylase, sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), has protective effects against inflammation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress in various pathological conditions. We established a PE mouse model by injection of phosphatidylserine/dioleoyl-phosphatidycholine compounds, followed by measurement of the SIRT1 protein level in the placenta via Western blotting and the serum HMGB1 and HSP70 concentrations via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). SIRT1 was down-regulated in the placenta of PE mice, in accompany with increased serum HMGB1 and HSP70 concentrations. We incubated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with IL-6 and the serum from a PE patient individually to mimic status of vein endothelial cells in PE. Western blot and Immunofluorescent assays showed that HMGB1 and HSP70 protein levels were decreased in the cells, but they were increased in the cell medium based on ELISA. These suggested that HMGB1 and HSP70 were forced to be released from the cells. SIRT1 knockdown promoted the releases of HMGB1 and HSP70, whereas its over-expression inhibited the releases. Moreover, SIRT1 protected the cells from death. Collectively, SIRT1 inhibits the releases of HMGB1 and HSP70 from HUVECs caused by IL-6 and the serum from PE patient and protects the cells from death, thus SIRT1 is probably a potentially protective factor in placenta against PE.

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Prevents the Development of Preeclampsia Through Suppression of Oxidative Stress.

Preeclampsia (PE) and its complications have become the leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality in the world. And the development of PE is still barely predictable and thus challenging to prevent and manage clinically. Oxidative stress contributes to the development of the disease. Our previous study demonstrated that exogenous Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) played a cytoprotective role in vascular endothelial cell by suppressing oxidative stress. In this study, we aim to investigate whether AAT contributes to the development of PE, and to identify the mechanism behind these effects. We found that AAT levels were significantly decreased in placenta tissues from women with PE compared that of healthy women. Notably, we demonstrate that AAT injection is able to relieve the high blood pressure and reduce urine protein levels in a dose-dependent manner in PE mice. In addition, our results showed that AAT injection exhibited an anti-oxidative stress role by significantly reducing PE mediated-upregulation of ROS, MMP9 and MDA, and increasing the levels of SOD, eNOS, and GPx with increased dosage of AAT. Furthermore, we found that AAT injection inactivated PE mediated activation of PAK/STAT1/p38 signaling. These findings were confirmed in human samples. In conclusion, our study suggests that exogenous AAT injection increases the antioxidants and suppresses oxidative stress, and subsequent prevention of PE development through inactivation of STAT1/p38 signaling. Thus, AAT would become a potential strategy for PE therapy.

Cytoprotective Role of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin in Vascular Endothelial Cell Under Hypoxia/Reoxygenation Condition.

Ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury is a critical factor in the pathogenesis of tissue injury after myocardial infarction, multiple organ failure, and other acute ischemic events. Previous studies suggest that α1-antitrypsin (AAT) plays a cytoprotective role in beta cells and human pulmonary cells. We hypothesize that AAT may have the potential to reduce IR-induced vascular injury involved in cell apoptosis and permeability. In this study, we investigate the role of AAT in human umbilical vein endothelial cells using a model wherein endothelial cell monolayers are exposed to hypoxia/reoxygenation (HR). We found that exogenous AAT alleviated HR injury in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, by gain and loss function experiments, we demonstrated that overexpression of AAT decreased cell apoptosis and promoted proliferation by inhibiting Rac1/PAK/p38 signaling and against oxidative stress, and also reduced cellular permeability by increasing ZO-1 and occludin expression. Thus, we provided evidences to illustrate that AAT played a cytoprotective role in vascular endothelial cell under HR condition, suggesting that AAT treatment may be therapeutically beneficial to reduce IR-induced vascular injury.