Strontium and its role in preeclampsia

Clara Barneo-Caragol; Eduardo Martínez-Morillo; Susana Rodríguez-González; Paloma Lequerica-Fernández; Ignacio Vega-Naredo; Francisco V Álvarez Menéndez

doi:10.1016/j.jtemb.2018.01.003

Strontium and its role in preeclampsia

J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2018 May:47:37-44. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2018.01.003. Epub 2018 Jan 13.

Authors

Clara Barneo-Caragol¹, Eduardo Martínez-Morillo², Susana Rodríguez-González³, Paloma Lequerica-Fernández⁴, Ignacio Vega-Naredo⁵, Francisco V Álvarez Menéndez⁶

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Medicine, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Av. de Roma, s/n, 33011, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. Electronic address: clara.barneo@sespa.es.
² Laboratory of Medicine, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Av. de Roma, s/n, 33011, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. Electronic address: eduardo.martinez@sespa.es.
³ Department of Morphology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oviedo, Av. Julián Clavería, s/n, 33006, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. Electronic address: rodriguezgsusana@uniovi.es.
⁴ Laboratory of Medicine, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Av. de Roma, s/n, 33011, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. Electronic address: paloma.lequerica@sespa.es.
⁵ Department of Morphology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oviedo, Av. Julián Clavería, s/n, 33006, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. Electronic address: vegaignacio@uniovi.es.
⁶ Laboratory of Medicine, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Av. de Roma, s/n, 33011, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Oviedo, C/ Fernando Bongera s/n, 33006, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. Electronic address: fvalvarez@uniovi.es.

PMID: 29544806
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2018.01.003

Abstract

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is considered a specific vascular disease in which endothelial dysfunction may be the crucial factor of its pathogenesis. It has been suggested that strontium (Sr) may play a role in the pathophysiology of PE. Our group established in a previous study the serum levels of Sr in healthy pregnancies, and the main aim of the present study was to evaluate Sr concentrations and oxidative status in preeclamptic women.

Methods: The study population included women with early-onset PE (E-PE, n = 39), late-onset PE (L-PE, n = 67) and serial samples from a subset of preeclamptic women (PE-ss, n = 20). The control group included women with gestational hypertension (GH, n = 56) and healthy pregnancies (samples collected in the 1st (n = 50), 2nd (n = 51) and 3rd trimesters (n = 53)). Strontium, calcium (Ca), uric acid (UA), placental growth factor (PlGF), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), lipid peroxidation and total antioxidant activity (TAA) were measured in these samples.

Results: Mean Sr levels were significantly higher in PE than in control groups (p ≤ 0.0001). Calcium values were found to be significantly lower in E-PE compared to control groups (p = 0.03). Higher levels of NT-proBNP were found in PE vs. control groups (p < 0.001). sFlt-1/PlGF ratio was higher in E-PE compared to L-PE and GH (p < 0.001). Uric acid levels in PE were significantly higher than in control groups (p < 0.0001). There was a strong positive correlation between UA and Sr in the E-PE serial samples (r = 0.80, p < 0.0001). Lipid peroxidation and lipid peroxidation/TAA ratios were found to be higher in PE, with lower values of TAA.

Conclusion: The higher levels of Sr and the alterations of redox status found in preeclamptic women, along with the strong correlation between UA and Sr suggest that this element may be involved in the pathogenesis of PE.

Keywords: Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry; OPG/RANKL/RANK system; Oxidative stress; Preeclampsia; Strontium; Trace elements.

MeSH terms

Adult
Biomarkers / blood
Calcium / blood
Case-Control Studies
Female
Gestational Age
Humans
Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced / blood
Membrane Proteins / blood
Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / blood
Oxidative Stress
Peptide Fragments / blood
Pre-Eclampsia / blood*
Pre-Eclampsia / etiology
Pregnancy
Strontium / blood*
Uric Acid / blood
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1 / blood

Substances

Biomarkers
Membrane Proteins
PIGF protein, human
Peptide Fragments
pro-brain natriuretic peptide (1-76)
Natriuretic Peptide, Brain
Uric Acid
FLT1 protein, human
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1
Calcium
Strontium