CORRELATION BETWEEN MMP-9 AND NGAL IN SERUM OF PREGNANT WOMEN WITH PREECLAMPSIA AND OXIDATIVE STRESS INJURY AND APOPTOSIS OF PLACENTA

Ling Chen, Meiting Wu, Xi Luo^*

Gynaecology and obstertrics of Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between MMP-9 and NGAL in serum of pregnant women with preeclampsia and oxidative stress injury and apoptosis of placenta.

Methods: Sixty-eight patients with preeclampsia who were diagnosed and treated in our hospital from March 2015 to July 2018 were selected as a research group, and 68 pregnant women who were diagnosed in our hospital during the same period and were able to give birth normally were selected as a control group. The expression levels of MMP-9 and NGAL in serum of subjects in the two groups before delivery were detected, and the oxidative stress injury-related indicators and apoptosis-related factors in the placenta tissue of subjects in the two groups during delivery were detected, and the correlation between them was analyzed. 

Results: The expression levels of MMP-9 and NGAL in serum of patients with preeclampsia significantly increased, and the expression in serum of patients with severe preeclampsia was higher than that of patients with mild preeclampsia (P<0.05). The activities of MDA, MPO and the expression levels of Bax and Caspase-3 protein in placenta tissue of patients in the research group were significantly higher than those in the control group, and the activities of CAT, SOD and Bcl-2 protein significantly decreased (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the activities of MDA, MPO, Bax and Caspase-3 protein in placenta tissue of patients with moderate and severe preeclampsia in the research group were significantly higher than those in patients with mild preeclampsia, and the expression levels of CAT and SOD activities and Bcl-2 protein were significantly lower than those in patients with mild preeclampsia (P<0.05). The expression levels of MMP-9 and NGAL in serum of pregnant women with preeclampsia were positively correlated with the expression levels of MDA and MPO, Bax and Caspase-3 proteins in placenta tissue, and negatively correlated with the expression levels of CAT, SOD and Bcl-2 proteins. 

Conclusion: Both MMP-9 and NGAL in serum of patients with preeclampsia were highly expressed, and were closely related to oxidative stress injury and apoptosis in placental tissue, which might be one of the markers for evaluating the condition of patients with preeclampsia.