Increased lipolytic activity and high ratio of free fatty acids to albumin in sera from women with preeclampsia leads to triglyceride accumulation in cultured endothelial cells.

OBJECTIVE

The null hypothesis of this study was that the triglyceride accumulation in endothelial cells exposed to sera from preeclamptic women was determined by the presence of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins in the sera.

STUDY DESIGN

The accumulation of triglycerides in cultured endothelial cells was studied using incorporation of tritiated glycerol.

RESULTS

Triglyceride-rich lipoproteins in the patient sera contributed little to the endothelial triglyceride accumulation. However, sera from preeclamptic women were found to have a higher molar ratio of free fatty acids to albumin compared with sera from women with normal pregnancies (1.6 +/- 0.5 vs 0.9 +/- 0.4, respectively, p less than 0.025). In addition, sera from preeclamptic women, compared with sera from normal pregnancies, showed enhanced lipolytic activity (release of free fatty acids 0.85 +/- 0.29 vs 0.17 +/- 0.16 mmol/ml per 24 hours, respectively; p less than 0.025) that further increased the free fatty acids/albumin ratio.

CONCLUSION

Sera from preeclamptic women have both a higher ratio of free fatty acids to albumin and increased lipolytic activity, resulting in enhanced endothelial uptake of free fatty acids, which are further esterified into triglycerides.