Maternal 27-hydroxycholesterol concentrations during the course of pregnancy and in pregnancy pathologies.

Winkler, Brigitte Sophia; Pecks, Ulrich; Najjari, Laila; Kleine-Eggebrecht, Nicola; Maass, Nicolai; Mohaupt, Markus; Escher, Geneviève (2017). Maternal 27-hydroxycholesterol concentrations during the course of pregnancy and in pregnancy pathologies. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 17(1), p. 106. BioMed Central 10.1186/s12884-017-1287-7

Text s12884-017-1287-7 - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution (CC-BY). Download (465kB)

BACKGROUND

The oxysterol 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-OHC) plays an important role in the regulation of cholesterol homeostasis. Pregnancy pathologies like preeclampsia (PE), HELLP-syndrome (HELLP), intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and intrahepatic cholestasis in pregnancy (ICP) are linked to disturbances in lipid metabolism. In the present study, we hypothesized a specific gestational regulation of 27-OHC and compromised 27-OHC levels due to placental and hepatic diseases in pregnancy resulting in a dysregulation of lipid metabolism.

METHODS

The 27-OHC was measured by gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and related to cholesterol concentrations. In the longitudinal cohort, a complete set of samples of healthy patients (n = 33) obtained at three different time points throughout gestation and once post-partum was analyzed. In the cross sectional cohort, patients with pregnancy pathologies (IUGR n = 14, PE n = 14, HELLP n = 7, ICP n = 7) were matched to a control group (CTRL) of equal gestational ages.

RESULTS

The 27-OHC levels already increased in the first trimester despite lower TC concentrations (p < 0.05). During the course of pregnancy, a subtle rise in 27-OHC concentrations results in an overall decrease of 27-OHC/TC ratio in between the first (p < 0.05) and second trimester. The ratio remains stable thereafter including the post-partum period. No significant differences have been observed in pregnancy pathologies as compared to the CTRL group.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, 27-OHC may have a compensatory role in cholesterol metabolism early in pregnancy. The conserved 27-OHC/TC ratio in pregnancy pathologies suggest that neither the placenta nor the liver is majorly involved in the regulation of 27-OHC metabolism.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

177 since deposited on 05 Sep 2017
17 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item