Metabolites of the Arachidonic Acid Lipoxygenase Pathway May Be Targets for Intervention and Diagnostic Markers for Metabolic Disorders in Pregnancy-A Pilot Study.

Background

Pathological pregnancy is associated with various complications that may affect the health of both the mother and her offspring. In recent years, lipid metabolites such as hydroxyeicosatetraenoic (HETE) fatty acids and hydroxyoctadecadienoic (HODE) fatty acids have gained increasing interest as potential biomarkers of pathological processes in pregnancy. The aims of the present study were to investigate changes in HETE and HODE levels during pathological pregnancy and to assess their potential role in the development and monitoring of pregnancy complications. Attempts were made to determine associations in cross-sectional studies and relationships in longitudinal ones.

Methods

In this study, a liquid chromatograph (HPLC) was used to separate the eicosanoids. The study group consisted of 72 Caucasian women, divided into a control group (n = 51) and a group with non-physiological pregnancy (n = 21).

Results

The study results show that the levels of the tested metabolites of the cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) pathways increased as pregnancy progressed. Women with non-physiological courses of pregnancy who developed gestational diabetes and/or preeclampsia were characterized by dysregulation of the inflammatory signaling processes involving eicosanoids.

Conclusions

Carbohydrate abnormalities during pregnancy were mainly associated with increased synthesis of 5-oxoETE and the use of 5-HETE in the control group but were not visible in the diabetic group. HODE acids probably do not play a significant role in pathological pregnancy. The relatively small size of the pathological group and the wide range of gestational age mean that the tests should be standardized and carried out on a larger scale.