Figure 3. Affinity-purified AT₁-AAs induced an increase in blood pressure and proteinuria in pregnant mice.

A. Systolic blood pressure in pregnant mice after injection of affinity purified AT₁-AAs (~20 µg) on gestation day 13 in the presence or absence losartan or a 7-aa epitope peptide. IgG from normotensive pregnant women was used as a control. B. The ratio of urinary albumin and creatinine on gestation day 18. C. H & E staining of kidneys from pregnant mice injected with IgG from normotensive women or IgG from women with preeclampsia in the presence or absence of losartan or the 7-aa epitope peptide. Note that the kidneys from mice treated with IgG from women with preeclampsia, in contrast to IgG from normotensive pregnant women were characterized by extensive endothelial swelling and occlusion of the capillary lumens. D. Electron microscopic examination of kidney sections from mice injected with IgG from normotensive women or with IgG from women with preeclampsia in the presence or absence of losartan or the 7-aa epitope peptide. Thick arrows show endothelial cell swelling causing marked narrowing or total occlusion of the capillary loop spaces (*). Thin arrows indicate focal subendothelial deposits. Boxes highlight the state of the fenestrations of the endothelial cells and the podocyte foot processes in the various kidney samples. Data from Zhou et al. [23], used with permission.