[261-POS]: Heme oxygenase-1 is not reduced in pre-eclampsia and does not regulate sFlt-1 or soluble endoglin production.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: It is now widely accepted that pre-eclampsia is associated with decreased placental heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1; antioxidant enzyme) expression [1,2]. Furthermore, it also appears widely accepted HO-1 directly regulates the release of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt1). HO-1 is proposed to inhibit sFlt1 production. These observations have prompted the investigation of drugs, such as pravastatin, that induce HO-1 as an approach to treat PE. However, the links between HO-1 and pre-eclampsia and/or sFlt1 production have not been independently validated. METHODS: Placental tissue was obtained from pregnancies complicated by severe PE (<34 weeks gestation; n=18) and gestationally-m..