Increased serum phosphodiesterase activity in women with pre-eclampsia

OBJECTIVE: To measure the activity of serum phosphodiesterase (PDE) in pre-eclampsia. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Nephrology Laboratory and Obstetrics Unit at S?o Lucas Hospital from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. SAMPLE: Twenty-nine normal and 28 pregnant women with pre-eclampsia. METHODS: Serum was collected from women with pre-eclampsia, at the time of diagnosis, and from gestation-matched controls. Circulating PDE activity was assessed by measuring consumption of the substrate thymidine 5'-monophosphate p-nitrophenyl ester and expressed as PDE units/l. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Serum PDE Activity. RESULTS: Mean substrate consumption was higher in pre-eclamptic condition (V(max)= 15.8 +/- 1.4 versus 12.7 +/- 0.9 U/L, P= 3.7 x 10(-14)). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that altered PDE activity may play a role in pre-eclampsia endothelial dysfunction.