Abstract: Pre-eclampsia(PE) is a gestational idiopathic disease involving multiple organs of the body and one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal death. The mechanism includes excessive oxidative stress, excessive activation of inflammation and immune system, and dysfunction of vascular endothelial, etc. Among them, the key link is that neutrophils over-activate and release elastase, leading to damage of vascular endothelial cells. It was found that levels of mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1) and neutrophil elastase(NE) were significantly increased in neutrophils of PE. Serum response factors（SRF） are downstream target proteins of MAPK1 pathway, which cause adhesion and migration of activated neutrophils and damage of endothelial cells. MAPK1 may be involved in the pathogenesis of PE by regulating SRF and thereby leading to the over-activation of neutrophils and the release of NE. The mechanism of MRPK1 regulating NE secretion through SRF will be reviewed in this paper.

Key words: Pre-eclampsia, Mitogen-activated protein kinase 1, Serum response factor, Neutrophil elastase