Ligands of toll-like receptors 2/4 differentially alter markers of inflammation, adhesion and angiogenesis by monocytes from women with pre-eclampsia in co-culture with endothelial cells

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is characterized by an exaggerated systemic inflammatory response and generalized endothelial dysfunction. We have recently demonstrated that fibrinogen, an endogenous ligand of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4, activates monocytes from women with pre-eclampsia (Al-ofi et al., 2014). Using an experimental co-culture model of primary human monocytes (derived from 9 women with PE (GA=33.18 ±5.8) and 9 normotensive pregnant women, NP (GA=33.15±4.0)) and human umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVECs), we compared the effects of fibrinogen and lipopolysaccharide (LPS, bacterial ligand to TLR4) on the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-1β), chemokines (IL-8 and MCP-1), and anti-angiogenic factor (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1,sFLT-1), as well as the soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1).
Source: Journal of Reproductive Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Source Type: research