Abstract P236: Organofluorine Hydrazones Preventing Oxidant Stress In An
In Vitro
Model Of Preeclampsia
Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-specific syndrome affecting 5-7% of all pregnant women, and there is no effective treatment available. Early abnormal placental development is associated with oxidative stress and the release of reactive oxygen species in the placenta. This phenomenon leads to downstream signaling and production of anti-angiogenic factors, which cause endothelial and trophoblast dysfunction and the cardinal features of PE, i.e., hypertension, proteinuria, and in severe cases, eclampsia. Our group developed a novel series of mitochondria-targeted antioxidants and sought to test if these compounds can effectively reduce placental oxidative stress and mitigate PE symptoms in vitro. Methods: We induced in vitro oxidant stress in human trophoblast (HTR8/SVneo) cells with hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and assessed whether augmenting cell-redox function with the proposed antioxidant compounds reduced (i) cell injury (cell cytotoxicity assay), (ii) mitochondrial stress (mitochondrial -derived superoxide production, mitochondria dysfunction) (iii) production of the transcription factor HIF1A and (iv) downstream anti-angiogenic responses (sFLT1 production). These effects were compared with the antioxidants - NAC, Vit E and MitoQ. Results: In our cell-based assays, pretreatment with the hydrazone compounds reduced mitochondrial-derived ROS production in H 2 O 2 -exposed trophoblasts cells, indicating that the key factor in the development of PE, the oxidant stress, can be alleviated by the antioxidant hydrazones. The most effective of these compounds, HY12 also reduced HIF-1A expression and sFLT1 protein expression H 2 O 2 -exposed HTR8 cells. Furthermore, the antioxidant hydrazones improved the mitochondrial electron chain enzyme activity in the stressed HTR8 cells, which is another promising characteristic of the applied hydrazones. Conclusion: In reducing placental trophoblast oxidative stress, hydrazone-based antioxidants present a potential novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of preeclampsia. Future investigation is warranted regarding the in vivo use of these compounds.