Sexually dimorphic associations between Vitamin D metabolites, blood pressure, and placental inflammatory markers in Normoevolutive, preeclamptic and obese pregnancies

Abstract

Objectives

Calcitriol, the active vitamin D (VD) metabolite, abates inflammation and reduces blood pressure (BP). In the human placenta, calcidiol bioconversion into calcitriol is sexually dimorphic, resulting in differential VD-dependent effects. During pregnancy, obesity (OB) and preeclampsia (PE) have been linked to inflammation, hypertension, and impaired VD metabolism. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the relationships between these conditions, accounting for fetal sex.

Methods

A total of 142 mother–child pairs from normoevolutive (NE), OB and PE pregnancies were included. Calcidiol was quantified each trimester in maternal serum, while calcitriol was determined in umbilical cord serum after birth. Placental expression of relevant inflammatory and BP-modulatory genes was analyzed by RT-qPCR.

Results

In PE and OB, cord serum calcitriol was significantly reduced in male subgroups. Throughout pregnancy, maternal serum calcidiol negatively correlated with BP, but only in NE. PE placentas, especially those from males, had increased gene expression of pro-inflammatory and BP modulatory factors, compared to NE and OB. VD metabolites showed inverse correlations with inflammatory and hypertension-associated genes, as well as with pre-pregnancy body mass index (pBMI).

Conclusions

Maternal calcidiol levels negatively correlated with BP only in normoevolutive pregnancies. Both OB and PE groups presented elevated pBMI, alongside reduced umbilical cord calcitriol in male-bearing pregnancies, partially explaining the pro-inflammatory/hypertensive signature in their placentas. The results highlight a sexually dimorphic detrimental effect of obesity in placental VD-metabolism, while support the beneficial effects of maintaining an adequate VD nutritional status in pregnancy, particularly when carrying a male fetus.