Endocrine Abstracts

Suppression of Cytokine Signalling-3 (SOCS-3) modulates the inflammatory pathways responsible for vascular stability by playing a role in inflammatory pathway. It acts by inhibiting the activation of Janus kinase-signal transducer and activating of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway to transmit their information into the cell nucleus. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate SOCS-3 levels in 2 nd trimester pregnant females and correlate it with blood pressure. A case control study recruiting (n=111) females was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi from January 2017 till February 2018. Pregnant females in their 2 nd trimester (13 to 27 weeks) between the ages of 20-35 years were included in the study. Females with any comorbid such as gestational diabetes, twin pregnancies, chronic cardio metabolic illness or infectious diseases such as HIV, HBV, HCV or females on anti-inflammatory medication, were excluded from the study. Furthermore, females with pre-existing hypertension, and complicated cases were excluded from this study. Recruited females were then classified as pregnancy-induced hypertensives or normotensive as per American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Guidelines. Weight, body mass index, lipid profile and blood glucose were recorded while SOCS-3 was measured by ELISA. Results showed that higher SOCS-3 levels were seen in hypertensive group (30 pg/ml) vs normotensive (16 pg/ml). Both systolic & diastolic blood pressure (r=0.520; P<0.001) (r=0.490; P<0.001) showed an independent significant positive correlation with SOCS-3 level. Although hypertensive pregnant females were obese and had a higher BMI compared to normotensive females (P<0.05), no difference in the lipid profile levels was observed, suggesting that SOCs-3 may act as an independent marker for blood pressure in pregnancy. Higher SOCS-3 levels were seen in hypertensive group (30 pg/ml) vs normotensive (16 pg/ml). Thus, it is safe to suggest that SOCS-3 has an association of causing high blood pressure. However, more research needs to be conducted to establish a mechanism and chronological order to these events in a pregnant female.