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Hypertension

Poster Session 4

(1156) Preeclamptic or History-of-COVID-19 CD4+ T Cells Contribute to Hypertension, Neurovascular Dysfunction Postpartum and in Offspring.

Wednesday, February 14, 2024
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM  
Location: Prince George's Exhibit Hall CDE, Lower Atrium Level
Objective: Preeclampsia (PE), new hypertension (HTN) in pregnancy, and COVID-19 infection (CV Hx) are associated with activated CD4+ T cells and neurological dysfunction. We examined the contribution of CD4+ T cells from PE and CV Hx to PE phenotype, maternal neurovascular function, fetal growth, and offspring cognitive function.

Study Design: One million placental CD4+ T cells from PE and normotensive (NT) patients with or without CV Hx in pregnancy were injected i.p. into nude athymic rats on gestational day (GD) 12. Memory navigation errors were assessed by Barnes maze and novel object recognition on GD 19 and 12 weeks postpartum (PP) in dams and offspring, and cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured by Doppler flowmetry. A two-way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis.

Results:

MAP (mmHg) increased in PE CV Hx (113±2, n=8) and PE (115±2, n=10) compared to NT CV Hx (104±4, n=7) and NT (98±2, n=7 p< 0.05) during pregnancy and remained increased 12 weeks PP in PE CV Hx (111±4, n=4) and PE (115±2, n=5) compared to NT CV Hx (100±4, n=5) and NT (99±3, n=4 p< 0.05). PE groups exhibited short term memory dysfunction and greater latency (P< 0.05) with more errors in the maze compared to NT groups as well as impaired CBF autoregulation at 3 months PP. 



No differences in weight, MAP, or latency at age 3 months were observed among the offspring groups. CV Hx offspring had more errors in the Barnes maze compared to offspring of PE and NT without CV Hx.


Conclusion: CD4+ T cells from PE with or without CV Hx in pregnancy cause HTN, impaired CBF autoregulation, and cognitive dysfunction during pregnancy and PP in recipients compared to recipients of NT CD4 + T cells. CD4+ T cells from either CV Hx group results in cognitive dysfunction in offspring. This data corroborates the important role of CD4+ T cells in development of long-term sequalae from HTN, including impaired maternal neurological function in pregnancy and PP and cognitive decline in her offspring.