The L-NAME mouse model of preeclampsia and impact to long-term maternal cardiovascular health.

Life science alliance 2022 Aug 05

filter terms:

Preeclampsia affects ∼2-8% of pregnancies worldwide. It is associated with increased long-term maternal cardiovascular disease risk. This study assesses the effect of the vasoconstrictor N(ω)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) in modelling preeclampsia in mice, and its long-term effects on maternal cardiovascular health. In this study, we found that L-NAME administration mimicked key characteristics of preeclampsia, including elevated blood pressure, impaired fetal and placental growth, and increased circulating endothelin-1 (vasoconstrictor), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (anti-angiogenic factor), and C-reactive protein (inflammatory marker). Post-delivery, mice that received L-NAME in pregnancy recovered, with no discernible changes in measured cardiovascular indices at 1-, 2-, and 4-wk post-delivery, compared with matched controls. At 10-wk post-delivery, arteries collected from the L-NAME mice constricted significantly more to phenylephrine than controls. In addition, these mice had increased kidney Mmp9:Timp1 and heart Tnf mRNA expression, indicating increased inflammation. These findings suggest that though administration of L-NAME in mice certainly models key characteristics of preeclampsia during pregnancy, it does not appear to model the adverse increase in cardiovascular disease risk seen in individuals after preeclampsia. © 2022 de Alwis et al.

Citation

Natasha de Alwis, Natalie K Binder, Sally Beard, Yeukai Tm Mangwiro, Elif Kadife, James Sm Cuffe, Emerson Keenan, Bianca R Fato, Tu'uhevaha J Kaitu'u-Lino, Fiona C Brownfoot, Sarah A Marshall, Natalie J Hannan. The L-NAME mouse model of preeclampsia and impact to long-term maternal cardiovascular health. Life science alliance. 2022 Aug 05;5(12)