ARGINASE IN PRE-ECLAMPSIA: STUDY OF GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS AND CIRCULATING FACTORS

ARGINASE IN PRE-ECLAMPSIA: STUDY OF GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS AND CIRCULATING FACTORS

• Autor
• Caroline Cristina Pinto Souza
• Co-autores
• Fernanda Borches Coeli Lacchini , Marcelo Rizzatti Luizon , Ricardo de Carvalho Cavalli , Ricardo Lacchini , Valéria Cristina Sandrim
• Resumo

• Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive syndrome (defined by blood pressure equal or above to 140/90 mmHg after 20 weeks of gestation) and it has been the main cause of mortality and morbidity among pregnant women in Brazil and in several countries. The pathophysiology of this disease is complex and involves several processes. One of these is related to the deficiency of the nitric oxide (NO) pathway, a gas molecule that causes the relaxation of vascular smooth muscle. A possible cause of this deficiency could be the high expression of the enzyme arginase, which competes with eNOS, an enzyme responsible for the synthesis of NO mainly in the endothelium, by the substrate (L-arginine). The latter, therefore, will present lower levels for NO production. To date, few studies have focused on the study of arginase in PE, none of which assesses genetic polymorphisms (changes in the DNA sequence) that could modulate its enzymatic activity and consequently contribute to changes in NO bioavailability. Thus, this project aims to compare, between 150 healthy pregnant women (age; 25.2 ± 5.9 years) and 150 with PE (age; 26.8 ± 6.7 years) [responsive or not to antihypertensive therapy], the frequencies of polymorphisms in the genes encoding arginase 1 and arginase 2. In addition, to measure in both groups, the plasma levels of these enzymes; their activity and the correlation of these variables with plasma levels of nitrite (stable NO metabolite) and the soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1(sFlt-1), antiangiogenic factor widely studied in endothelial dysfunction. This work has already been approved by the Research Ethics Committee (CEP) (CAAE: 01822312.0.0000.5132) and integrates a larger study that contemplates the quantification of several other biomolecules.

   

   

• Palavras-chave
• Preeclampsia; Arginase; Genetic polymorphisms.
• Modalidade
• Pôster
• Área Temática
• Disfunção endotelial