Association between the Presence of Autoantibodies against Adrenoreceptors and Severe Pre-Eclampsia: A Pilot Study

BackgroundPre-eclampsia is the leading cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality with incompletely understood etiopathogenesis. The purpose of the current study is to determine whether there is a relationship between the presence of autoantibodies against β1, β2 and α1 adrenoreceptors and severe pre-eclampsia. Methodology/Principal FindingsSynthetic peptides corresponding to amino acid sequences of the second extracellular loops of β1, β2 and α1 adrenoreceptors were synthesized as antigens to test 34 patients with severe pre-eclampsia, 36 normal pregnancy women and 40 non-pregnant controls for the presence of autoantibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The respective frequencies of autoantibodies against β1, β2 and α1 adrenoreceptors were 50.0% (17/34), 52.9% (18/34) and 55.9% (19/34) in patients with severe pre-eclampsia, 19.4% (7/36) (p = 0.011), 19.4% (7/36) (p = 0.006) and 17.6% (6/36) (p = 0.001) in normal pregnancy women and 10% (4/40), 7.5% (3/40) and 10% (4/40) (p Conclusions/SignificanceThis novel pilot study demonstrated for the first time that the presence of autoantibodies against β1, β2 and α1 adrenoreceptors are increased in patients with severe pre-eclampsia. Pregnant women who are positive for the three autoantibodies are at increased risks of neonatal mortality and morbidity. We posit that these autoantibodies may be involved in the pathogenesis of severe pre-eclampsia.