Figure 2.

Effects of prenatal intraamniotic (i.a.) monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment on lung structure and right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) in experimental preeclampsia. (A) In comparison with saline control rats (CTL), i.a. exposure to sFlt-1 (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1) decreases septation and causes lung simplification. Intraamniotic treatment with mAb enhances lung structure, as quantified by radial alveolar counts. Micrographs are representative and were obtained at the same magnification (scale bars, 100 μm). (B) Lung histology and vessel counts after immunostaining of endothelial cells with von Willebrand factor show that sFlt-1–exposed rats have decreased vascular density when compared with control rats and that i.a. mAb treatment restores vessel density at 14 days (scale bars, 250 μm). (C) In addition, antenatal treatment with mAb improved RVH after i.a. sFlt-1 exposure (preeclampsia). As shown, i.a. injection with nonspecific IgG did not affect radial alveolar counts (A), vessel density (B), or RVH (C) in saline control rats and did not alter the adverse effects of i.a. sFlt-1. Error bars show SEM. Numbers of pups studied in each group are: CTL, n = 22; sFlt-1, n = 11; sFlt-1 + mAb, n = 11; Ant IgG, n = 13; sFlt-1 + IgG, n = 12. HPF = high-power field; LV = left ventricle; RV = right ventricle; S = septum.