The Research Group of Inflammation in Pregnancy - CEMIR
Inflammation in Pregnancy Research Group
Preeclampsia is a serious hypertensive pregnancy complication that starts with placental dysfunction and is not detected until after mid-pregnancy when developing into a maternal disease with hypertension and proteinuria. No cure or efficient treatment of preeclampsia exists and we critically lack reliable predictive tests for early identification of high-risk pregnancies.
Preeclampsia doubles the risk for later cardiovascular disease and the disorders share underlying mechanisms of harmful inflammation. In preeclampsia extensive atherotic lesions in the uterine wall arteries closely resemble atherosclerotic lesions.
Inflammation mediated by the danger sensor system of pattern recognition receptors is central to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. In the Inflammation in Pregnancy Research Group (InPreg) we aim to unravel the inflammatory processes, classify the causative variants of placental dysfunction, and select novel diagnostic biomarkers for preeclampsia.
The inflammation in pregnancy research group (InPreg) use a broad research approach involving immunological molecular studies, cytokine profiling, omics-based and genetic technologies and biobanking, made possible by strong collaboration between clinical departments and basic researchers in different disciplines. We are responsible for a unique collection of placental and uterine wall tissues, an adipose tissue biobank, and preeclampsia risk gene studies in the HUNT cohort.
Research documentation
- Stokkeland LMT, Giskeødegård GF, Stridsklev S, Ryan L, Steinkjer B, Tangerås L, Vanky EI, Iversen AC (2019) Serum cytokine patterns in first half of pregnancy. Cytokine 119, 188-196. PMID 30954016
- Refvik Riise HKR, Sulo G, Tell GS, Igland J, Egeland G, Nygård O, Selmer R, Iversen AC, Daltveit AK (2019) Hypertensive pregnancy disorders increase the risk of maternal cardiovascular disease after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors. International Journal of Cardiology, 282, 81-87. PMID 30773269
- Tangerås LH, Silva GB, Stødle GS, Gierman LM, Skei B, Collett K, Beversmark AL, Skråstad R, Thomsen LCV, Bjørge L, Iversen AC (2018) Placental inflammation by HMGB1 activation of TLR4 at the syncytium. Placenta, 72-73, 53-61. PMID 30501882
- Stødle GS, Silva GB, Tangerås LH, Gierman LM, Nervik I, Dahlberg UE, Sun C, Aune MH, Thomsen LCV, Bjørge L, Iversen AC (2018) Placental inflammation in preeclampsia by NLRP3 inflammasome activation in trophoblasts. Clinical & Experimental Immunology, 193, 84-94. PMID 29683202
- McGinnis R, Steinthorsdottir V, Williams NO, Thorleifsson G, Shooter S, Hjartardottir S, Bumpstead S, Stefansdottir L, Hildyard L, Sigurdsson JK, Kemp JP, Silva GB, Thomsen LCV, Jääskeläinen T, Kajantie E, Chappell S, Kalsheker N, Moffett A, Hiby S, Lee WK, Padmanabhan S, Simpson N, Dolby V, Staines-Urias E, Engel SM, Haugen A, Trogstad L, Svyatova G, Zakhidova N, Najmutdinova D, The FINNPEC Consortium, The GOPEC Consortium, Dominiczak AF, Gjessing HG, Casas JP, Dudbridge F, Walker JJ, Broughton Pipkin F, Thorsteinsdottir U, Geirsson RT, Lawlor DA, Iversen AC, Magnus P, Laivuori H, Stefansson K, Morgan L (2017) First sequence variants associated with preeclampsia identified in fetal genome. Nature Genetics, 49, 1255-1260. PMID 28628106
- Austdal M, Thomsen LCV, Skei B, Mathew S, Bjørge L, Austgulen R, Bathen T, Iversen AC (2015) Metabolic profiles of placenta in preeclampsia using HR-MAS MRS metabolomics. Placenta, 36, 1455-1462. PMID 26582504
- Tangerås LH, Austdal M, Skråstad R, Salvesen K, Austgulen R, Bathen T, Iversen AC (2015) Distinct first trimester cytokine profiles for gestational hypertension and preeclampsia. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB), 35, 2478-2485. PMID 26404486
- Gierman LM, Stødle GS/Tangerås LH, Austdal M, Dalheim Olsen G, Follestad T, Skei B, Rian K, Gundersen A, Austgulen R, Iversen AC (2015) Toll-like receptor profiling of seven trophoblast cell lines warrants caution for translation to primary trophoblasts. Placenta, 36, 1246-1253. PMID 26386649
- Thomsen LCV, Melton PE, Tollaksen K, Lyslo I, Solberg P, Roten LT, Gundersen AS, Odland LM, Strand KM, Nygård O, Sun C, Iversen AC, Austgulen R, Moses E, Bjørge L (2015) Refined phenotyping identifies links between preeclampsia and related diseases in a Norwegian preeclampsia family cohort. Journal of Hypertension, 33, 2294-2302. PMID 26259119
- Tangerås LH, Stødle GS, Dalheim Olsen G, Leknes AH, Gundersen AS, Skei B, Vikdal AJ, Ryan L, Steinkjer B, Myklebost M, Langaas M, Austgulen R, Iversen AC (2014) Functional Toll-like receptors in primary first-trimester trophoblasts. Journal of Reproductive Immunology, 106, 89-99. PMID 24933117
Collaboration
- Tone Frost Bathen, MR Cancer Group, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
- Eszter Vanky, Women's health - PCOS, NTNU, St. Olavs hospital
- Kjell Salvesen, RSHU, NTNU and St. Olavs hospital
- Bård Kulseng, Obesity research group, Obesity Center (ObeCe), NTNU and St. Olavs hospital
- Kristian Hveem, HUNT and Center for genetic epidemiology
- Line Bjørge, CCBIO, University of Bergen and Haukeland University Hospital
- Ganesh Acharya, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
- Marijke Faas, University of Groningen, the Netherlands
- Catherine Hedrick and Klaus Ley, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, San Diego
- Eric Moses, University of Western Australia, Perth
- Linda Morgan, Division of Clinical Chemistry, University of Nottingham, UK
- Ralph McGinnis, Sanger Institute, UK
- Hannele Laivouri, University of Helsinki, Finland
- Valgerdur Steinthorsdottir, DeCode Genetics, Iceland