ELABELA/APELA Levels Are Not Decreased in the Maternal Circulation or Placenta among Women with Preeclampsia

摘要

The genetic deletion of apelin receptor early endogenous ligand (Elabela; official nameAPELA) produces a preeclampsia-like phenotype in mice. However, evidence linking ELABELA with human disease is lacking. Therefore, we measured placental mRNA and circulating ELABELA in human samples. ELABELA mRNA (measured by RNA sequencing) was unchanged in 82 preeclamptic placentas compared with 82 matched controls (mean difference, 0.53%; 95% CI, ?25.9 to 27.0;P?=?0.78). We measured circulating ELABELA in 32 women with preterm preeclampsia (delivered at <34 weeks' gestation) and 32 matched controls sampled at the same gestational age. There was no difference in circulating ELABELA concentrations in the preeclamptic cohort compared with controls (median, 28.5 pg/mL; 95% CI, 5.3 to 63.2 versus median, 20.5 pg/mL; 95% CI, 9.2 to 58.0, respectively); the median difference was 8.0 pg/mL (95% CI, ?17.7 to 12.1;P?=?0.43). In contrast, solubleFLT1(a protein with an established association with preeclampsia) mRNA was increased in placental tissue (mean difference, 34.9%; 95% CI, 16.6 to 53.1;P?=?0.001), and circulating concentrations were 16.8-fold higher among the preeclamptic cohort (P?