Increased lipolytic activity and high ratio of free fatty acids to albumin in sera from women with preeclampsia leads to triglyceride accumulation in cultured endothelial cells.

OBJECTIVE: The null hypothesis of this study was that the triglyceride accumulation in endothelial cells exposed to sera from preeclamptic women was determined by the presence of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins in the sera. STUDY
DESIGN: The accumulation of triglycerides in cultured endothelial cells was studied using incorporation of tritiated glycerol.
RESULTS: Triglyceride-rich lipoproteins in the patient sera contributed little to the endothelial triglyceride accumulation. However, sera from preeclamptic women were found to have a higher molar ratio of free fatty acids to albumin compared with sera from women with normal pregnancies (1.6 +/- 0.5 vs 0.9 +/- 0.4, respectively, p less than 0.025). In addition, sera from preeclamptic women, compared with sera from normal pregnancies, showed enhanced lipolytic activity (release of free fatty acids 0.85 +/- 0.29 vs 0.17 +/- 0.16 mmol/ml per 24 hours, respectively; p less than 0.025) that further increased the free fatty acids/albumin ratio.
CONCLUSION: Sera from preeclamptic women have both a higher ratio of free fatty acids to albumin and increased lipolytic activity, resulting in enhanced endothelial uptake of free fatty acids, which are further esterified into triglycerides.