ANA CAROLINA PALEI (PHD) – Department of Surgery, Cardiovascular-Renal Research Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA

Email: apalei@umc.edu / Twitter: anacpalei  

Palei et al. Administration of recombinant human placental growth factor decreases blood pressure in obese hypertensive pregnant rats. Journal of Hypertension 2020, 38:2295–2304

Journal of Hypertension 2020, 38:2295–2304

1) Summarize your work in one sentence.

This study sought to determine the role of placental growth factor (PlGF) as a mechanistic link between obesity and hypertension during pregnancy.

2) Summarize your findings in one sentence.

We found that, similar to reports in obese hypertensive pregnant women, circulating PlGF is reduced in obese hypertensive pregnant rats and exogenous chronic rhPlGF administration was able to decrease their blood pressure values.

3) Which were the more important methods you used in this work? If it is not a traditional method, you can briefly explain the concept of that methodology.

We found an adverse association between a marker of cardiac injury and renin as well as copeptin in the black population, while the white group seemed to present with a negative feedback loop between markers of cardiac injury and remodelling, the RAAS and copeptin.

3) Which were the more important methods you used in this work? If it is not a traditional method you can briefly explain the concept of that methodology.

We determined active plasma renin concentration and plasma aldosterone, from which aldosterone-to-renin ratio was calculated. Cardiac Troponin T was measured in serum as a marker of cardiomyocyte injury, while ECG-left ventricular hypertrophy and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide were used as indicators of cardiac remodelling. Plasma copeptin was used as a surrogate marker of vasopressin and has also been linked to myocardial infarction in previous studies.

4) What did you learn from this paper, what was your take-home message?

From our series of studies testing the administration of rhPlGF into animal models of pregnancy-induced hypertension, we learned that this growth factor has a strong therapeutic potential for preeclampsia, with salutary effects on obese pregnancies, without major adverse maternal-fetal consequences.