Fig. 1.

Hypothesized role for vasopressin in the early pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Multiple groups have demonstrated elevated copeptin throughout pregnancies that develop preeclampsia, both before and after the onset of clinical symptoms. We hypothesize that poor implantation leads to the increased secretion of arginine vasopressin (AVP), which then acts through some combination of as-yet unidentified receptors and target tissues to initiate other later-appearing mechanisms. AVP infusion now represents a simple, third, clinically relevant, nongenetic model of preeclampsia.