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Author Spotlight: Modeling an Aspect of Preeclampsia in Female Mice Using Hypoxic Human Placenta-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles
Published on: January 26, 2024
Irisin levels during pregnancy and changes associated with the development of preeclampsia
María F Garcés1, Jhon J Peralta, Carlos E Ruiz-Linares
1Departments of Physiology (M.F.G., J.J.P., C.E.R.-L., A.R.L., N.E.P., A.L.T.-S., E.S., J.E.C.), Pathology (A.Y.S.), and Obstetrics and Gynecology (E.A.-M., A.I.R.-P.) and Institute of Clinical Investigations (J.H.E.-S., P.A., A.I.R.-P.), School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia; Department of Physiology, Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS) (C.D., R.N., J.E.C.), School of Medicine-Instituto de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (C.D., R.N.), 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Context:
Irisin is a recently discovered adipomyokine that regulates the differentiation and phenotype of adipose tissue.
Objective:
In this study, we investigated the levels of irisin over the three trimesters of gestation in healthy and preeclamptic women and during the follicular and luteal phase of the menstrual cycle in a cohort of healthy eumenoherric women.
Methods:
Serum irisin was measured by an ELISA in a longitudinal prospective cohort study in 40 healthy pregnant women, 10 mild preeclamptic women, and 20 healthy eumenoherric women during the menstrual cycle to assess irisin levels and correlations with other metabolic parameters. We identified the protein expression of fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5, the irisin precursor, in human placenta using immunohistochemical approaches in humans.
Results:
Serum irisin levels are higher in the luteal than in the follicular phase in eumenorrheic women. Fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5, the irisin precursor, is expressed in human placenta, and its serum levels are higher during the entire pregnancy when compared with nonpregnant women. Serum irisin correlates positively with the homeostasis model assessment of estimated insulin resistance in the first trimester of normal pregnancy. Serum irisin levels do not change throughout gestation in preeclamptic women; however, there were lower irisin levels during the third trimester when compared with the normal pregnant group.
Conclusion:
Our results suggest that irisin may be involved in reproductive function and in the pregnancy-associated metabolic changes, and this condition may be an irisin-resistant state during gestation.
