OP15.09: Circulating placenta‐derived extracellular vesicles contribute to endothelial dysfunction in pre‐eclampsia

To investigate the contribution of placenta-derived extracellular vesicles in pre-eclampsia associated endothelial dysfunction. Placenta-derived extracellular vesicles were isolated by differential centrifugation from sera samples from pre-eclampsia (n = 8) and normotensive (n = 6) pregnancies. Then, Endothelial cells in culture were incubated (48h) with pre-eclampsia or control sera in the presence or absence of placenta-derived extracellular vesicles. Then, changes in VCAM-1, ICAM-1, Von Willebrand factor (VWF) expression, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were assessed. The results were expressed as the average fold increase vs. control. VCAM-1, VWF, and ROS were significantly higher in cells exposed to pre-eclampsia vs. control sera (fold change of 5.4, 3, and 1.3, respectively, p < 0.05). Interestingly, VCAM-1, VWF, and ROS were significantly higher in non-depleted (with placenta-derived extracellular vesicles) compared to depleted (without placenta-derived extracellular vesicles) pre-eclampsia sera (fold change of 5 vs. 0.7 for VCAM-1, 4.3 vs. 2.8 for VWF, and 1.3 vs. 1.2 for ROS, p < 0.05). Cell exposure to control sera supplemented with placenta-derived extracellular vesicles from pre-eclampsia increased significantly VCAM-1, VWF, and ROS compared to non-supplemented control sera (fold change 3.9, 4.1, and 1.4, respectively, p < 0.05). Circulating placenta-derived extracellular vesicles are potentially pathogenic in endothelial damage associated with pre-eclampsia, triggering an oxidative, prothrombotic and proinflammatory state. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.