Skeletal muscle ultrastructure in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia

The aim of this study was to assess by quantitative methods whether the ass umed metabolic disturbance underlying preeclampsia would be reflected in mu scle cell composition of lipid, mitochondria, or glycogen. We have reported mitochondrial dysfunction in preeclampsia, and since accumulation of lipid in skeletal muscle is a feature in mitochondrial disorders, our hypothesis was that preeclamptic women would have an increased content of triglycerid e droplets. Quantitative investigation of the skeletal muscle ultrastructur e was performed in 10 women with severe preeclampsia and in 6 normotensive pregnant women. Biopsy specimens from musculus rectus abdominis were taken during cesarean section and prepared for electron microscopy. Random pictur es were taken by transmission electron microscopy, and point-counting stere ology was performed. Preeclamptic women did not have a higher lipid volume fraction than normotensive pregnant women, and we had to reject our hypothe sis, On the contrary, there was a tendency towards a lower triglyceride vol ume fraction in preeclampsia. We did not detect differences in relative vol umes of mitochondria or glycogen in skeletal muscle between the two groups. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.