Role of oxysterol 4β-hydroxycholesterol and liver X receptor alleles in pre-eclampsia.

Background: Liver X receptors (LXRs) are expressed in placenta and may be associated with pre-eclampsia (PE). Oxysterols act as agonists for LXRs. We recently proposed a new blood pressure-regulating circuit with oxysterol 4β-hydroxycholesterol (4βHC) acting as a hypotensive factor via LXRs.

Materials and methods: This study investigated the association between maternal plasma 4βHC, blood pressure (BP) indices, placental expression of LXR target genes, and patient characteristics using data from the Finnish Genetics of Pre-Eclampsia Consortium (FINNPEC) cohort. Plasma samples of 144 women with PE and 38 healthy pregnant controls as well as 44 PE and 40 control placental samples were available. In addition, genetic data from the FinnGen project was utilized to explore the associations of LXR alleles with PE and pregnancy hypertension.

Results: There were no significant associations between 4βHC and BP or maternal and perinatal characteristics in FINNPEC cohort. However, plasma 4βHC was inversely correlated with the maternal body mass index. There were no associations with the genetic variants of LXRs with PE in FinnGen. LXR target genes APOD, SCARB1, TGM2, and LPCAT3 were expressed differently between PE and normal pregnancies in placental samples of FINNPEC.

Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that plasma 4βHC and genetic LXR variants do not play a major role in PE and BP regulation during pregnancy. However, key LXR target genes involved in lipid metabolism were expressed differently in normal and PE pregnancies. Further research is needed to understand the complexities of oxysterols, LXRs, and their potential contributions to placental function and pregnancy outcomes.