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Review
. 2025 Aug 4;30(1):702.
doi: 10.1186/s40001-025-02972-y.

Adipokines in preeclampsia: disrupted signaling pathways and novel therapeutic strategies

Rania Abdeen Hussain Abdalla  1 , Nuzhat Parveen  1 , Naveed Iqbal  1 , Abdelrahim Awadelkarim Abdelrahman Mohamed  1 , Syed Monowar Alam Shahid  2 , Gamal Eldin Mohamed Osman Elhussein  3 , Mohd Saleem  4 , Mohd Shahid Khan  5
Affiliations
Review

Adipokines in preeclampsia: disrupted signaling pathways and novel therapeutic strategies

Rania Abdeen Hussain Abdalla et al. Eur J Med Res. .

Abstract

Preeclampsia is a complex hypertensive disorder of pregnancy characterized by systemic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and placental insufficiency, contributing significantly to maternal and fetal morbidity. Recent evidence underscores the role of adipokines-bioactive molecules secreted by adipose tissue and the placenta-in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. This review explores the dysregulated expression and function of key adipokines, such as leptin, adiponectin, resistin, chemerin, visfatin, and omentin in preeclamptic pregnancies. Pro-inflammatory adipokines (leptin, resistin, chemerin, and visfatin) are consistently upregulated, amplifying inflammatory signaling (e.g., JAK/STAT, TLR4/NF-κB) and promoting endothelial dysfunction. Conversely, anti-inflammatory adipokines (adiponectin and omentin) are markedly downregulated, weakening vasoprotective and metabolic regulatory pathways. These alterations are closely linked to gene expression changes in placental and adipose tissues under hypoxic and inflammatory conditions, forming a feed-forward loop of vascular injury. Furthermore, adipokines are emerging as promising biomarkers for early diagnosis and risk stratification in preeclampsia, with clinical studies correlating their plasma levels to disease onset and severity. Therapeutic modulation of adipokine signaling pathways offers a novel approach to restoring metabolic-vascular homeostasis in high-risk pregnancies. By integrating current molecular insights, this review provides a comprehensive framework for understanding adipokine-mediated mechanisms in preeclampsia and highlights their potential in improving prediction, prevention, and management strategies.

Keywords: Adipokines; Biomarkers; Endothelial dysfunction; Placental dysfunction; Preeclampsia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to particiapte: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of The University of Haìl, KSA H-2023-425 on 4/12/2023. Consent for publication: Authors agree to the consent for publication requirements. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Role of adipokines in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mechanistic pathways linking maternal and fetal adipokine dysregulation to growth outcomes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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