Description

The exact mechanisms by which aspirin prevents the development of PE in high-risk patients are currently not fully known. Furthermore, a small proportion of high-risk patients who are on low-dose aspirin still go on to develop PE. This is a big unmet need because although it is known that this treatment is working for some patients, it is not known how it's working in these patients and also why a proportion of patients don't respond to this treatment. If the key mechanisms by which aspirin treatment is beneficial in patients at high risk of PE can be identifies, this will lead to better information for clinicians of why this treatment works and this could then be conveyed to the patient. Moreover, if key differences can be identified between aspirin responders and non-responders, novel therapeutic targets could be developed that could work for all patients at high risk of PE.

One of the main anti-inflammatory actions of aspirin is the release of aspirin-triggered lipoxin (ATL). The receptor for ATL (FPR2/ALX) is highly expressed on neutrophils, suggesting that the anti-inflammatory action of this drug is mediated via neutrophils. The investigators have previously shown that neutrophils are important in mediating anti-inflammatory responses in PE. Thus, taken together, the hypothesis is that neutrophils are key to understanding the mechanisms involved in the use of low-dose aspirin (LDA) treatment in patients at high risk of developing PE and key to understanding why this treatment does not work in some high-risk patients. This hypothesis will be addressed by two objectives both of which will entail in-depth profiling of neutrophils.