Research achievement by Associate Prof. Masahito Ikawa et al. was published in PNAS.

Preeclampsia originates from placental insufficiency and both maternal and fetal lives will be endangered if it proceeds unabated. Associate Prof. Ikawa and colleagues established the preeclampsia model mice by expressing sFLT1 specifically in the placenta. The model mice showed the gestational hypertension, protein urea, and intra uterine growth restriction. They also demonstrated that pravastatin induces the VEGF like angiogenic factor, PGF, and ameliorates the symptoms. This work was electrically published in December 27,2010 on PNAS. The Asahi Shinbun, The mainichi Shinbun, Nikkei Shinbun, and the Sankei Shinbun reported on the work.