Preeclampsia and uteroplacental acute atherosis: immune and inflammatory factors

AC Staff, GM Johnsen, R Dechend… - Journal of reproductive …, 2014 - Elsevier
Acute atherosis (Aa) affects uteroplacental spiral arteries in 20–40% of cases of
preeclampsia. Its hallmark is lipid-filled, CD68-positive foam cells. It usually develops in the
decidua (the pregnancy endometrium) at the distal ends of arteries that are often
unremodelled in their proximal segments. Aa resembles the early stages of atherosclerosis,
which becomes symptomatic in the middle-aged and elderly, in contrast to the young age of
pregnant women with Aa. Although the mechanisms of Aa are largely unknown, they are …