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Published on: January 26, 2024
Distinct gene expression patterns for CD14++ and CD16++ monocytes in preeclampsia
Polina Vishnyakova1,2, Maria Kuznetsova3, Anastasiya Poltavets3
1National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology Named After Academician V.I. Kulakov of Ministry of Healthcare of Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia. vishnyakovapolina@gmail.com.
Preeclampsia (PE) significantly alters monocyte subpopulations, with classical monocytes decreasing and intermediate monocytes increasing. These changes involve distinct inflammatory and cellular pathway activations, offering new insights into PE pathogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Reproductive Medicine
- Genomics
Background:
- Preeclampsia (PE) is a severe pregnancy complication impacting maternal and fetal health.
- Monocyte subpopulations' immunophenotype and gene expression in PE remain largely uncharacterized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate alterations in CD14++ (classical) and CD16++ (intermediate/non-classical) monocyte subpopulations in women with preeclampsia.
- To analyze the gene expression profiles of these monocyte subsets in preeclampsia to understand their role in disease pathogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Collected blood samples from pregnant women with late-onset preeclampsia (n=33) and physiological pregnancies (control).
- Employed immunophenotyping and immunomagnetic sorting to isolate CD14++ and CD16++ monocyte subpopulations.
- Performed transcriptome analysis to examine gene expression profiles of sorted monocytes.
Main Results:
- A significant decrease in classical (CD14++) monocytes and a significant increase in intermediate (CD16++) monocytes were observed in late-onset PE.
- Classical monocytes in PE showed activated inflammation (cytokine/chemokine signaling), apoptosis, and stress-response pathways, with suppressed T-cell activation pathways.
- CD16++ monocytes in PE exhibited activated cell adhesion, integrin signaling, and blood coagulation pathways, alongside downregulated inflammation and p53 pathways.
Conclusions:
- Preeclampsia is associated with profound and distinct changes in classical and intermediate monocyte subpopulations.
- These monocyte subsets display divergent functional pathway alterations, suggesting specific roles in the complex pathogenesis of preeclampsia.
