A new gene trigger for pregnancy disorder identified

In addition, the animals delivered a day or so earlier than normal pregnant mice and there was a greater incidence of stillborn pups. However, once the pups were delivered, the health of the mother returned to normal.

“The loss of 2-ME likely sets in motion a cascade of events culminating in preeclampsia,” says Kalluri. “Disruption of COMT/2-ME led to elevated hypoxia, leading to angiogenic dysfunction and placental insufficiency, which then results in a further decrease in 2-ME levels.”

In the final portion of the study, the authors administered 2-ME to the mice, resulting in a reversal of preeclampsia-like-symptoms.

“Interestingly, the many diverse factors that have been identified in the recent years as elevated or suppressed in women with preeclampsia are fixed by 2-ME, suggesting that this action of COMT is central to proper vascular function in the placenta,” notes Kalluri. “This study offers the possibility of screening for COMT gene defects in pregnant women to predict preeclampsia.”

This research is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Judah Folkman for his inspiring contribution to this study.

This research was supported, in part, by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the British Heart Foundation and the Kanae Foundation for the Promotion of Medical Science, Japan.

Technologies associated with 2-ME/COMT and preeclampsia are licensed to Cynthus, Inc.

Study coauthors include BIDMC investigators Keizo Kanasaki, Kristin Palmsten, Hikaru Sugimoto, Yuki Hamano and Liang Xie; Shakil Ahmad of the University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Samuel Parry of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Hellmut Augustin of the University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Vincent Gattone, Jr. of Indiana University School of Medicine; Judah Folkman of Children’s Hospital Boston; and Jerome Strauss of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, research and teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and consistently ranks in the top four in National Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a research partner of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Care Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information visit www.bidmc.harvard.edu.