Background:
Inflammation in pregnancy is a physiological con-
dition common to all pregnancies, but it should be tightly regulated
to prevent tissue injury as it occurs with the onset of pre-eclampsia
(PE). Women afflicted by these pregnancy disorders exhibit a
heightened inflammatory state and, the levels of pro-inflammatory
cytokines, such as TNF-
, IL-6 and IL-8 are elevated systemically
and locally in placenta. Echinacea and Ginger are two natural com-
pounds, whose anti-inflammatory properties have been already
well demonstrated (Dall’Acqua et al., 2015). Because these com-
pounds exert very low adverse effects, they can also be used during
pregnancy, but little is known about their effect on placental cells.
Material and methods:
we isolated and characterized endothe-
lial cells (EC) from pre-eclamptic (
Fig. 1) and normal decidua and
set up an in vitro model to study the inflammatory state of this cells
treated with Echinacea and Ginger (Echi/Gyn). Cytokines (IL-8, IL-6,
MCP-1) and adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1) expression,
were evaluated by qPCR and ELISA. The same assays have been
performed on a macrophage cell line (THP-1) cultured in gravid
serum.
Results:
Echi/Gyn
exert
anti-inflammatory
effects
on
macrophages down-regulating the expression of TNF-
and
IL-6; the treatment of EC with Echi/Gyn increase the expression of
IL-8 and ICAM-1 but down-regulate the expression of MCP-1 and
VCAM-1.
