IMPAIRED GUANOSINE 3',5'-CYCLIC PHOSPHATE PRODUCTION IN SEVERE PREGNANCY-INDUCED HYPERTENSION WITH HIGH PLASMA-LEVELS OF ATRIAL AND BRAIN NATRIURETIC PEPTIDES

To investigate the activation of particulate guanylate cyclase in preg nant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), an d guanosine 3',5'-cyclic phosphate (cGMP) were measured by radioimmuno assays specific to each substance. Ten normal nonpregnant women, and 3 0 normal pregnant women, 17 pregnant women with mild PIH and 11 pregna nt women with severe PIH in the third trimester were included in this retrospective observational study. The diagnosis and classification of hypertension were carried out according to the technical bulletin (No . 91) of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. In t he pregnant women with mild PIH, plasma cGMP levels as well as ANP and BNP levels were significantly (P<0.05) higher than those in gestation al age-matched normal pregnant or nonpregnant women. But in the pregna nt women with severe PIH, plasma cGMP levels were significantly lower than those in pregnant women with mild PIH (P<0.05), although plasma A NP and BNP levels were higher than those in pregnant women with mild P IH.