Amino acid profile of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid in preeclampsia

Yurbi Terán; Ormelys Ponce; Luis Betancourt; Luis Hernández; Pedro Rada

doi:10.1016/j.preghy.2012.05.001

Amino acid profile of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid in preeclampsia

Pregnancy Hypertens. 2012 Oct;2(4):416-22. doi: 10.1016/j.preghy.2012.05.001. Epub 2012 May 20.

Authors

Yurbi Terán¹, Ormelys Ponce², Luis Betancourt², Luis Hernández², Pedro Rada³

Affiliations

¹ Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, University of Los Andes Hospital, Mérida, Venezuela.
² Laboratory of Behavioral Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela.
³ Laboratory of Behavioral Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela. Electronic address: radap@ula.ve.

PMID: 26105613
DOI: 10.1016/j.preghy.2012.05.001

Abstract

Objectives: To determine patterns in amino acids (arginine, GABA, glutamate and glutamine) and the diamine (agmatine) in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of mild and severe preeclampsia compared to control patients, using capillary zone electrophoresis to generate methods for refining diagnosis and prognosis and shed light on the pathophysiological mechanisms of preeclampsia.

Study design: This is an observational case-control study in pregnant women that attended the emergency ward of the University Hospital, Mérida, Venezuela, during the period April, 2009-April 2010.

Main outcome measures: Molar concentration of amino acids and diamine in plasma and CSF in control, mild and severe preeclampsia patients.

Results: An increase in glutamate plasma levels was observed in mild preeclampsia and even higher in severe patients, while a biphasic response occurred in the CSF samples with a significant increment in mild preeclampsia patients and a decrease in severe preeclampsia patients. GABA significantly decreased both in plasma and CSF in mild preeclampsia with a tendency to return to normal levels in severe preeclampsia patients. Arginine CSF and plasma levels decreased in mild preeclampsia patients and even more in severe preeclampsia while agmatine significantly increased in plasma levels with no changes in CSF.

Conclusions: The results are discussed in terms of molecules that could be used as biomarkers of the severity of the disease and the possible involvement of these substances in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia.

Keywords: Agmatine; Arginine; Capillary zone electrophoresis; GABA; Glutamate; Nitric oxide; Severity of preeclampsia.