Involvement of cleaved prolactin in peripartum cardiomyopathy

众所周知，催乳素（PRL）已被修饰成几种变体。这些变体之一，被组织蛋白酶D（CathD）切割的N-末端PRL，由于其抗血管生成和促凋亡特性而被命名为血管紧张素（Vi）。Vi已被报道可能导致围产期心肌病（PPCM）和妊娠高血压综合征（PIH）。 为了阐明这些致病机制，我们检测了PPCM和妊高征患者血液中的Vi值和CathD活性，并探讨了这些因素与疾病的关系，PPCM和妊高征患者的Vi值和CathD活性均高于正常对照组。 结果提示，测定孕妇血清中Vi含量和CathD活性有助于早期发现PPCM和妊高征。

It is well known that prolactin (PRL) has modified into several variants. One of these variants, N-terminal PRL which is cleaved by cathepsinD (CathD), is named vasoinhibins (Vi) because of its anti-angiogenic and pro-apototic properties. Vi has been reported the possibility to cause for peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) and pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) syndrome. In order to clarify these pathogenic mechanisms, we tried to detect Vi value and CathD activity in patient's blood and determine the relationship between these factors and diseases.Vi content and CathD activity in PPCM and PIH patients are higher than these of control healthy pregnant women. These results seem to suggest that measurement of Vi content and CathD activity is useful for early detection of PPCM and PIH in pregnant women.