Abstract P173: Serum Soluble and Placental (Pro)Renin Receptor in Normal and Preeclamptic Pregnancy

Objective: Preeclampsia (preE), a syndrome of hypertension, proteinuria and edema, has many elusive triggers. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) has been implicated in preE pathogenesis. Recently, we have demonstrated that (pro)renin levels are increased in preE patients and that levels of (pro)renin and (pro)renin receptor ((P)RR) are elevated in a rat model of preE. It has also been demonstrated that high circulating levels of soluble (P)RR at delivery is associated with preE. We evaluated the placental expression of (P)RR in preE patients as well as in a nonhuman primate. We also evaluated the serum levels of soluble (P)RR in preE patients and in a rat model of preE. Study Design: (1) Blood and placental samples were collected from 15 normal pregnant (NP) and 15 preE consenting patients in an IRB approved prospective study. (2) We used NP rats ( n=10) and pregnant rats receiving weekly injections of desoxycorticosterone acetate and whose drinking water was replaced with 0.9% saline (preE, n=10). (3) The placental samples from owl monkey (both early and term, NP, n= 2) were collected. The (P)RR expression was measured both by western blotting (WB) and Immunohistochemistry (IHC) with anti-ATP6IP2 (detect (P)RR). The extracellular-signal-regulated kinase ½ (ERK ½) expression was evaluated by WB. The levels of serum soluble (P)RR were measured by a commercially available ELISA kit. Results: The placental expression of (P)RR was higher (p Conclusions: These data suggest that increased expression of (P)RR and ERK1/2 in preE placenta is related to the occurrence of preE. These data also reconfirmed that high level of circulatory soluble (P)RR is associated with preE. The higher expression of (P)RR in early pregnancy compared to term placenta in owl monkey suggests that the (P)RR is important for normal placental development. The expression of (P)RR in nonhuman primates reveals the approach of future studies on owl monkey preE model.