Increased levels of cell-free hemoglobin, oxidation markers, and the antioxidative heme scavenger alpha(1)-microglobulin in preeclampsia.
Preeclampsia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality during pregnancy. To date, the pathogenesis of the disease is not fully understood. Recent studies show that preeclampsia is associated with overexpression of the hemoglobin genes alpha2 and gamma and accumulation of the protein in the vascular lumen of the placenta. Hypothesizing that cell-free hemoglobin leaks from the placenta into the ma