Neutrophil Expression of Cyclooxygenase 2 in Preeclampsia

The objective of this study was to determine whether (1) neutrophils of preeclamptic women express cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and (2) COX-2 mediates neutrophil interleukin 8 (IL-8) production. Neutrophils were isolated from heparinized blood collected from women with preeclampsia and normal pregnancy and from normal nonpregnant women. Cyclooxygenase 2 protein was measured in the neutrophils of the 3 groups by specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). To study the role of COX-2 in IL-8 production, neutrophils of normal pregnant women were activated with arachidonic acid (AA) and incubated overnight in Medium 199 with and without NS398, a specific COX-2 inhibitor. We found that neutrophils from preeclamptic women expressed significantly more COX-2 than neutrophils from normal pregnant or normal nonpregnant women. Arachidonic acid activated neutrophils to produce IL-8, which was completely inhibited by NS398. These data demonstrate that COX-2 is expressed in neutrophils of preeclamptic women and that COX-2 mediates IL-8 production by activated neutrophils.