Abstract:

[Abstract] Objective  To study the therapeutic effects of lipoxin A4 (LXA4) on preeclampsia in rats. Methods Thirty pregnant SD rats were randomly divided into three groups (n=10 for each group): treatment with lipoxin A4 group, model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) group and brine group. The model of LPS was induced by the injection of low dose LPS slowly in the tail vein of rats on the pregnancy of the 14th day. LXA4 was given for the treatment in lipoxin A4 group. Brine group was injected saline as comparison. The body weight, systolic blood pressure, 24-hour urine protein, level of plasma LXA4 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) were detected before pregnancy, day-8 and day-18 of gestation in three groups. Results  There were no significant differences in the weight, systolic blood pressure, 24-hour urine protein, level of plasma LXA4 and TNF-α before pregnancy, day-8 and day-18 of gestation between three groups（P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in body weight between three groups on the pregnancy of the 18th day（P > 0.05). However, there were significant higher levels in the systolic blood pressure, 24-hour urine protein, level of plasma LXA4 and TNF-α in treatment with lipoxin A4 group and model of LPS group than those of brine group (P < 0.05). Compare with the brine group, the level of LXA4 was significantly decreased in treatment with LXA4 group and model of LPS group (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the systolic blood pressure, 24-hour urine protein, levels of plasma LXA4 and TNF-α between treatment with LXA4 group and brine group（P > 0.05). Conclusion  The method is mature to establish a model of preeclampsia in pregnant rats by given low dose LPS. LXA4 has a significant role in the treatment of preeclampsia in rat model.

Key words: preeclampsia, systolic pressure, lipopolysa, lipoxin A4, tumor necrosis factor- α