EP12.07: Contribution of circulating neutrophil extracellular traps to endothelial dysfunction in pre‐eclampsia

Recent studies demonstrated that neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) play a pathogenic role in complement mediated pathologies. Their role in pre-eclampsia remains unexplored. The aim of this study is to investigate the contribution of NETs in pre-eclampsia associated endothelial dysfunction. NETs were obtained from the incubation of donor preactivated neutrophils with pre-eclampsia (n = 8) and control (n=6) sera from peripheral blood. To evaluate endothelial response, endothelial cells in culture were incubated (48h) with pre-eclampsia or control NETs. 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-eclamptic versus control sera [fold change of 5.4, 3, and 1.3, respectively, p < 0.05]. Cells incubated with pre-eclampsia NETs showed a significantly increased VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and ROS expression compared to control NETs [fold change of 3.5, 1.2, and 2, respectively, p < 0.05]. Circulating NETS 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.