Etiology and pathophysiology of preeclampsia.

The possible involvement of genetic and immune mechanisms in the etiology of preeclampsia has attracted increasing attention. Preeclampsia is characterized by a generalized disturbance in endothelial physiology, and not merely by an isolated defect in vascular prostacyclin synthesis. The increased production of oxygen free radicals and/or elastase by activated lymphoid cells in the pregnant decidua, a mainly lymphoid tissue, may be the link between the hypothetical immunologic mechanisms and the endothelial injury occurring in preeclampsia.