ISSN:
1471-0528
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Objectives To determine how β2-adrenoceptor binding and function differ between healthy women and those with pre-eclampsia.Design Case-control study.Setting Faculty of Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway.Participants Two groups of pregnant women: eight cases with pre-eclampsia, matched with eight healthy controls.Methods Venous blood was drawn from women in both groups after an overnight rest. The two groups were matched for gestational age which was (mean (SD)) 36.4 (3.8) and 36.5 (4.4) weeks for the pre-eclamptic and control groups, respectively. Six weeks after delivery a second blood sample was obtained. The binding and function of β2-adrenoceptors were determined in isolated human mononu-clear leukocytes. The levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline were determined in plasma from venous blood.Results An elevated density of functional β2-adrenoceptors was observed in normal pregnancy [mean (SD) 390 (90) vs 270 (60) sites/cell postpartum], due to an increased fraction of receptors in high affinity state, with unaltered total receptor density. The number of functional β2-adrenoceptors was reduced in pre-eclampsia [mean (SD) 80 (40) vs 240 (30) sites/cell postpartum], due to a reduction in the total receptor number with an unaltered fraction of high affinity receptors. In pregnancy, both unstimulated and isoprenaline-stimulated cAMP levels were reduced in the women with pre-eclampsia (0.5 (0.2) and 1.7 (0.9) pmol/106 cells, respectively) compared with the normal pregnant controls (mean (SD) 1.2 (0.3) and 4.7 (1.8) pmol/106 cells, respectively). Plasma catecholamine levels were not elevated in the women with pre-eclampsia.Conclusions The increased number of functional β2-adrenoceptors may contribute to the vasodilatation seen in normal pregnancy, while the reduced overall number of receptors may be one of several factors that account for increased peripheral vascular resistance in pre-eclampsia.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2000.tb11587.x
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