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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Drug Discov Today. 2021 Jul 22;26(11):2754–2773. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2021.07.011

Table 1.

Comparison of phenotype and biochemistry between pulmonary hypertension and preeclampsia.

Pulmonary hypertension Preeclampsia
Local vascular resistance
  • Increased pulmonary vascular resistance

  • Increased mean pulmonary arterial pressure (>20 mm Hg)

  • Increased uteroplacental vascular resistance

  • Reduced uteroplacental blood flow

Systemic blood pressure
  • Elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure (>140 and >90 mmHg, respectively

Vascular remodeling
  • Increased vascular remodeling due to intimal and medial hypertrophy, fibrosis, inflammation, etc.

  • Reduced vascular remodeling due to impaired endovascular trophoblast invasion and subsequent failure to replace vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and endothelial cells

Complications
  • Right ventricular overload and heart failure

  • Intrauterine growth restriction

  • Proteinuria

  • Uteroplacental and other maternal organ dysfunction

Endothelin-1
  • Increased circulating endothelin-1

  • Increased circulating endothelin-1

Hypoxia, hypoxia inducible factor (HIFs) and microRNA-210 (miR-210)
  • Hypoxia is a major contributor to Group III pulmonary hypertension resulting from lung disease and/or hypoxia

  • Increased incidence at high altitude

  • Increased expression of HIFs in pulmonary arteries

  • Increased expression of miR-210 in pulmonary arteries

  • Hypoxia is a major contributor to preeclampsia

  • Increased incidence at high altitude

  • Increased expression of HIFs in uteroplacental tissues

  • Increased expression of miR-210 in uteroplacental tissues

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress
  • Increased ROS and oxidative stress in pulmonary arteries (some studies suggest decreased ROS and oxidative stress)

  • Increased ROS and oxidative stress in uteroplacental tissues

ER stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR)
  • Increased ER stress and activation of the UPR in pulmonary arteries

  • Increased ER stress and activation of the UPR in uteroplacental tissues