Vascular Dysfunction in Mother and Offspring During Preeclampsia: Contributions from Latin-American Countries.

1. Laboratory of Vascular Biology, Institute of Health Sciences and Health, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Barra do Garcas, MT, Brazil.
2. Pharmacogenomics Academia, Instituto Politécnico Nacional-CIIDIR Durango, Durango, Mexico.
3. Laboratorio de Biología de la Reproducción, IFIBIO Houssay-UBA-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
4. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica, UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
5. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Madrid, Spain.
6. Grupo Reproducción, Departamento de Fisiologia, Facultad de Medicina Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia.
7. Hospital Materno-Infantil de la Caja Nacional de Salud, La Paz, Bolivia.
8. Colegio de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador.
9. Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana, Havana, Cuba.
10. Magee-Womens Research Institute, Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Epidemiology, and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
11. Vascular Physiology Laboratory Group of Investigation in Tumor Angiogenesis (GIANT) Group of Research and Innovation in Vascular Health (GRIVAS Health) Basic Sciences Department Faculty of Sciences, Universidad del Bio-Bio, Chillan, Chile. cescudero@ubiobio.cl.

Pregnancy is a physiologically stressful condition that generates a series of functional adaptations by the cardiovascular system. The impact of pregnancy on this system persists from conception beyond birth. Recent evidence suggests that vascular changes associated with pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia, affect the function of the maternal and offspring vascular systems, after delivery and into adult life. Since the vascular system contributes to systemic homeostasis, defective development or function of blood vessels predisposes both mother and infant to future risk for chronic disease. These alterations in later life range from fertility problems to alterations in the central nervous system or immune system, among others. It is important to note that rates of morbi-mortality due to pregnancy complications including preeclampsia, as well as cardiovascular diseases, have a higher incidence in Latin-American countries than in more developed countries. Nonetheless, there is a lack both in the amount and impact of research conducted in Latin America. An impact, although smaller, can be seen when research in vascular disorders related to problems during pregnancy is analyzed. Therefore, in this review, information about preeclampsia and endothelial dysfunction generated from research groups based in Latin-American countries will be highlighted. We relate the need, as present in many other countries in the world, for increased effective regional and international collaboration to generate new data specific to our region on this topic.