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Maternal omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E improve placental angiogenesis in late-onset but not early-onset preeclampsia

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Abstract

Abnormal placental vasculature is associated with preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is of two types, i.e., early- and late-onset preeclampsia (LOP), both having different etiologies. We have earlier demonstrated low levels of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E in women with preeclampsia. The current study examines the effect of maternal omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E supplementation on angiogenic factors in a rat model of preeclampsia. Pregnant rats were divided into a total of five groups control, early-onset preeclampsia (EOP); LOP; EOP supplemented with omega-3 fatty acid and vitamin E and LOP supplemented with omega-3 fatty acid and vitamin E. Preeclampsia was induced by administering l-nitroarginine methylester (l-NAME) at the dose of 50 mg/kg body weight/day. The vascular endothelial growth factor gene expression and protein levels were lower (p < 0.01 for both) in animals from both EOP as well as LOP groups (p < 0.01). In the EOP group, the protein levels of VEGF receptor-1 were also lower (p < 0.01). Supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E to LOP improved the levels of VEGF and VEGF receptor-1 only in the LOP but not in the EOP group. In the EOP group, the gene expression of hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) in the placenta was higher (p < 0.05) and supplementation normalized these levels. Our findings indicate that maternal supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E has differential effect on preeclampsia subtypes.

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Funding

Financial support from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, India (Grant no. 5/7/1069/13-RCH) is gratefully acknowledged. One of the authors (VK) received a fellowship from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (INSPIRE fellowship).

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  1. Department of Mother and Child Health, Interactive Research School for Health Affairs (IRSHA), Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Pune, Pune-Satara Road, Pune, 411043, India

    Vaishali Kasture, Deepali Sundrani, Surabhi Dalvi, Mayur Swamy, Anvita Kale & Sadhana Joshi

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  1. Vaishali Kasture
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  2. Deepali Sundrani
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Correspondence to Sadhana Joshi.

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Kasture, V., Sundrani, D., Dalvi, S. et al. Maternal omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E improve placental angiogenesis in late-onset but not early-onset preeclampsia. Mol Cell Biochem 461, 159–170 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-019-03599-4

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