Platelet-activating factor-acetylhydrolase activity in maternal and umbilical venous plasma obtained from normotensive and hypertensive pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE

To elucidate whether plasma platelet-activating factor-acetylhydrolase activities in women with pregnancy-induced hypertension and in their fetuses are different from those in normotensive mothers and fetuses.

METHODS

We measured platelet-activating factor-acetylhydrolase activity in the plasma of 11 normotensive nonpregnant women, 39 normotensive pregnant women, 30 pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension, 31 fetuses delivered from normotensive pregnant women, and 12 fetuses delivered from women with pregnancy-induced hypertension.

RESULTS

Plasma platelet-activating factor-acetylhydrolase activity in normotensive pregnant women at 28-31 weeks' gestation was significantly lower than that in normotensive nonpregnant women (P < .001). In contrast, in women with pregnancy-induced hypertension at 28-31 weeks' gestation, the activity of this enzyme was significantly higher than that in gestational age-matched, normotensive pregnant women (P < .01). Platelet-activating factor-acetylhydrolase activity in the umbilical venous plasma of fetuses delivered from women with pregnancy-induced hypertension at 37-40 weeks' gestation was significantly higher than that in the gestational age-matched term fetuses of normotensive mothers (P < .001).

CONCLUSION

These findings indicate that the hydrolysis of platelet-activating factor is decreased during a normal pregnancy and that such modulation does not occur in pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension or in their fetuses.