Pre-eclampsia – from Placenta to General Disease

Pre-eclampsia is recognised clinically by its affects on the mother and baby in the second half of pregnancy, but most cases have their origin much earlier. The primary problem lies in the development of the placenta and its blood supply and is believed to have an immunological cause. In particular, it involves the interaction of a unique pattern of Class I MHC molecules (HLA-C, HLA-G, HLA-E) expressed by the invasive trophoblast with highly specialised NK cells resident in the decidua. This interaction facilitates trophoblast invasion in normal pregnancy but is deficient in pre-eclampsia, leading to a poor bloo…