Adiponectin Participates in Preeclampsia by Regulating the Biological Function of Placental Trophoblasts through P38 MAPK-STAT5 Pathway

Background: We aimed to investigate the participation of adiponectin in preeclampsia, and to explore the pos-sible mechanism. Methods: A total of 52 patients with preeclampsia and 30 normal women with full-term pregnancy were en-rolled. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the localization of MAPK and STAT5. RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of adiponectin mRNA in placental tissue of patients with preeclampsia and normal preg-nant women. Western blot was used to detect the expression of adiponectin protein, MAPK, p-MAPK, STAT5 and p-STAT5 in placental tissue of patients with preeclampsia and normal pregnant women. Results: p-p38 was highly expressed in placental trophoblasts of patients with preeclampsia, while p-STAT5 was less expressed. Expression level of p-p38 and p-STAT5 in patients with preeclampsia were significantly different from those in normal pregnant women (P<0.01). Expression level of adiponectin mRNA was signifi-cantly lower in patients with preeclampsia than in normal pregnant women (P<0.05). Level of p-p38 expression was negatively correlated with levels of adiponectin expression (r=-0.413, P<0.05). Expression level of p-STAT5 was positively correlated with expression level of adiponectin (r=0.526, P<0.01). Conclusion: Adiponectin participates in preeclampsia by regulating the biological function of placental tropho-blasts through p38 MAPK-STAT5 pathway.