Sphingolipids Imbalanced in Brain Microvessel of Predisposed Reduced Uterine Perfusion Mice

Preeclampsia (PE), a hypertension disorder, is one of the most serious complications that can occur during pregnancy. It affects at least 2-8% of pregnancies, causing up to 76,000 maternal deaths and 500,000 infant fatalities. PE negatively impacts the vasculature of multiple body systems and has significant neurovascular implications including reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome and ischemic stroke. Although PE resolves after delivery, long term cerebrovascular effects remain. Women who have experienced PE are estimated to have an 80% increased risk of future stroke. Although the consequences of PE are extensive and prevalent, its full etiology is not yet known. It is suspected that cerebrovascular dysfunction plays a significant role in these critical ramifications of PE. Interestingly, the ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) pathway is known to regulate many of the systems that are altered in PE. Specifically, ceramide and S1P are involved in regulation of blood pressure, vascular tone, and vessel permeability in addition to other cell and tissue processes. Because of the significant involvement of ceramide, S1P, and their signaling constituents in endothelial cell and vascular integrity, variations within this pathway may explain the link between PE and cerebrovascular disease. We hypothesize that the ceramide and S1P signaling pathway is linked to dysfunctional brain vasculature in mice that had a PE-induced pregnancy. This study aims to prove the ceramide and S1P signaling pathway is altered in the cerebral microvasculature of PE murine models. C57BL female mice underwent reduced uterine perfusion pressure (RUPP) surgery at 10 weeks old to simulate PE or sham surgery. Brain microvessels (BMVs) were isolated from these mice dams nine months following delivery. Two step reverse transcription qPCR was performed to assess the mRNA expression of the various ceramide and S1P signaling components. It was found that RUPP mice BMVs express significantly less sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) in comparison to sham BMVs. RUPP mice BMVs also demonstrated significantly increased sphingosine-1-phosphate lyase 1 (Sgpl1) and phospholipid phosphatase 1 (Plpp1). RUPP mice BMVs exhibited decreased expression of ceramide kinase and sphingosine kinase 2 (Sphk2) as well. SphK1 and Sphk2 are key enzymes in producing S1P, an active signaling lipid responsible for maintaining the blood brain barrier, cerebrovascular integrity, and angiogenesis. Sgpl1 is responsible for the degradation of S1P into its inactive form, therefore contributing to endothelial apoptosis and diminished vessel integrity. Plpp1 catalyzes the production of pro-apoptotic ceramide and was discovered to promote the metabolism of S1P. Ceramide kinase is a crucial enzyme in producing anti-apoptotic ceramide-1-phosphate. These discrepancies in ceramide and S1P signaling pathway expression may contribute to impaired cerebrovascular health, providing insight into the increased incidence of stroke with PE.