Increased expression of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) in the cytoplasm of placental syncytiotrophoblast from preeclamptic placentae.
Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disorder characterised by an inappropriate maternal inflammatory response during pregnancy. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) was originally characterised as a nuclear protein but when released into the extracellular environment following necrotic cell death, it is proinflammatory. HMGB1 is expressed in the syncytiotrophoblast of human placenta. Higher levels of uric acid are reported in preeclampsia. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the expression of HMGB1differed between early onset and late onset preeclampsia or severe and mild preeclampsia and whether its expression correlated with the levels of uric acid.



74 preeclamptic placentae and 110 normotensive placentae were included in this study. The levels of uric acid in women with preeclampsia were measured. The expression of HMGB1 in preeclamptic placentae or in first trimester and term placentae that had been treated with uric acid was measured.



HMGB1 was expressed predominantly in the syncytiotrophoblast of the placenta and the expression of HMGB1 in the cytoplasm of the syncytiotrophoblast was significantly increased in both severe preeclampsia and early onset preeclampsia compared to normotensive pregnancies. The circulating levels of uric acid were significantly increased in preeclampsia and correlated with the expression of HMGB1. Increased levels of HMGB1 were significantly correlated with the severity and the time of onset of preeclampsia, but pathologic levels of uric acid did not increase the expression of HMGB1.



Our data provides a better understanding of the function of HMGB1, a danger molecule in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.
The Hospital of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Fudan University, China; Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, The University of Auckland, New Zealand. Electronic address: q.chen@auckland.ac.nz.
Q
Q
Chen
Wuxi maternity and Children Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, China.
Y X
YX
Yin
Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, The University of Auckland, New Zealand.
J
J
Wei
Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, The University of Auckland, New Zealand.
M
M
Tong
The Hospital of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Fudan University, China.
F
F
Shen
Wuxi maternity and Children Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, China.
M
M
Zhao
Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, The University of Auckland, New Zealand.
L
L
Chamley
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D024243:HMGB1 Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism*; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000378:metabolism*; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
D024243:HMGB1 Protein; C585491:HMGB1 protein, human; D014527:Uric Acid
HMGB1; Inflammation; Preeclampsia; Trophoblast; Uric acid