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Published on: March 5, 2019
Systemic immune dysregulation in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy persists years after delivery
Maximilian Sabayev1,2, Edward A Ganio1, Ina A Stelzer1,3
1Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine.
Insights
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are linked to future cardiovascular disease (CVD). Persistent immune system changes in women with HDP history may explain this increased long-term CVD risk.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cardiovascular Health
- Reproductive Medicine
Background:
- Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), including preeclampsia and gestational hypertension, increase the risk of later-life cardiovascular disease (CVD).
- The precise biological mechanisms connecting HDP to subsequent CVD remain incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the immune cell profiles and functional responses in women with HDP compared to normotensive controls.
- To identify potential immune system dysregulations that persist over time and may link HDP to long-term CVD risk.
Main Methods:
- Employed high-dimensional single-cell mass cytometry to analyze maternal immune cells.
- Sampled women antepartum, postpartum, and in midlife (several years postpartum).
- Utilized multivariable sparse modeling to differentiate HDP cases from controls.
Main Results:
- Successfully distinguished HDP cases from controls across all timepoints with significant accuracy (AUROC 0.692–0.814).
- Revealed distinct immune signatures at each timepoint, indicating dynamic immune dysregulation.
- Identified a persistent immune dysregulation in HDP cases, marked by increased B cells and altered monocyte responses.
Conclusions:
- Persistent immune dysregulation following HDP may be a key factor contributing to the elevated long-term risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Understanding these immune alterations offers potential targets for CVD prevention in women with HDP history.
Background:
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), including preeclampsia and gestational hypertension, are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life. Mechanisms that link HDP to CVD, however, remain unclear.
Methods:
We used a high-dimensional single-cell mass cytometry approach to profile the distribution and functional responses of maternal immune cells in three separate groups of HDP cases and normotensive controls, sampled antepartum, postpartum, and several years postpartum (midlife). We used multivariable sparse modeling to distinguish HDP cases from controls.
Results:
We accurately distinguished HDP cases from controls at all three study timepoints, with area under the receiver operator characteristic (AUROC) curve values of 0.814 for the antepartum group, 0.757 for the postpartum group, and 0.692 for the midlife group. Distinct immune signatures for each model underscore the dynamic dysregulation of the immune system throughout life. In addition, we identified a persistent immune dysregulation signal among HDP cases at all three timepoints, characterized by increased B cell frequency and decreased pSTAT3 response upon cytokine stimulation in classical monocytes.
Conclusions:
Persistent immune dysregulation among women with a history of an HDP may contribute to elevated long-term risk of CVD development.
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