Sera from preeclamptic patients contain factor(s) that stimulate prostacyclin production by human endothelial cells.

A relative decrease in endothelial cell prostacyclin production may be pivotal in the genesis of preeclampsia. We determined the effect of sera from preeclamptic women on prostacyclin production by monolayers of normal term human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Endothelial cells were incubated with media containing serum from patients with preeclampsia, non-hypertensive, gestational age-matched pregnant controls, or normal non-pregnant controls (N = 7, all groups). 6-Keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha, the stable metabolite of prostacyclin, was measured directly in the culture medium by radioimmunoassay. Treatment with preeclamptic sera, when associated with a statistically significant increase in prostacyclin metabolite production by endothelial cells. Thus, sera from women with preeclampsia stimulate rather than inhibit prostacyclin production by endothelial cells. We speculate that there is a factor in the sera of women with preeclampsia that functions to activate endothelial cells or which may play a role in the homeostatic mechanisms to balance reduced prostacyclin output in preeclampsia.