Studying the development of pre-eclampsia and future risk of heart disease

Regulation of uteroplacental vascular remodelling by maternal endothelial cell tetrahydrobiopterin: Role in pre-eclampsia and programmed cardiovascular risk in mothers and offspring

This Oxford team is studying how pre-eclampsia develops and influences the long-term health of women and their children. High blood pressure during pregnancy – known as pre-eclampsia – affects 5-10% of pregnancies around the world. It increases the danger of pregnancy complications, and can cause poor growth and premature birth in babies. Recent studies indicate that it also increases heart disease risk in women and their children in the years after the pregnancy. We don’t yet understand how or why pre-eclampsia develops or influences the long-term health of women and their children. This Oxford team are investigating pre-eclampsia in mice that have a particular genetic fault that affects cells in their blood vessels. The mice develop high blood pressure during pregnancy and their offspring – who have normal genes – go on to develop high blood pressure in later life. This echoes the effects of pre-eclampsia in humans. The team will study the mice to see what happens in their blood vessels to cause high blood pressure and how this risk is then inherited by their children. They will also study a possible way to treat the problem in mice with drugs. The insights from this study will provide clues for how to prevent or treat pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, and protect the future health of mothers and their children.