INTRACELLULAR AND EXTRACELLULAR ANTIOXIDANT BUFFERING LEVELS IN ERYTHROCYTES FROM PREGNANCY-INDUCED HYPERTENSION

Both intracellular (lysate thiol, lysate glutathione and lysate supero xide dismutase) and extracellular (plasma thiol, plasma glutathione an d membrane thiol) antioxidant buffering levels were measured in red bl ood cells from patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). We found the following. (1) The levels of plasma thiol and plasma glutath ione in PIH women with proteinuria were markedly lower than that in th e normal pregnancy. (2) The concentrations of lysate glutathione and s uperoxide dismutase in PIH women with proteinuria were significantly d ecreased compared with that in the normal pregnancy. (3) With the exce ption of plasma and lysate glutathione, all the tested antioxidant mar kers were not significantly different between PIH women without protei nuria and normal pregnancy. (4) There was no statistical correlation b etween antioxidant buffering level and BP in patients with PIH. We con cluded that both extracellular and intracellular antioxidant buffering levels were decreased in patients with PIH, especially in those with proteinuria. The reduction of the antioxidant buffering level could ac count for several important pathophysiological features of PIH, such a s the elevation of intracellular calcium, decreased red blood cell def ormability and endothelial damage.