title: Expression of prostaglandin endoperoxide H synthase 1 and 2 in human placenta at term.
abstract: Prostaglandins play an important role in reproduction, particularly in pregnancy and parturition. We investigated the expression of prostaglandin endoperoxide H synthase (PGHS) 1 and 2, key enzymes in prostaglandin biosynthesis, in the human placenta at term. Northern blot analysis of placenta total and poly(A)+ RNA failed to detect significant levels of PGHS-1 mRNA, using a human PGHS-1 specific DNA probe. In contrast, definite PGHS-2 mRNA bands, with a calculated size of about 4.5 kb, were observed in Northern blots of placenta poly(A)+ RNA, using a PGHS-2 specific DNA probe. Moreover, PGHS-1 and PGHS-2 expression was assessed at the translational level by Western blot analysis. Thus, using three highly specific antibodies, we found a selective expression of PGHS-2 immunoreactive protein. These results indicate that PGHS-2 is the PGHS isoform prevalently expressed in the human placenta at term and support the hypothesis that PGHS-2 plays a prominent role in the maintenance of pregnancy, in line with the proposed anti-apoptotic and growth promoting properties of this enzyme.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergology, University of Bari, Italy. g.macchia@area.ba.cnr.it
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Macchia
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Paola
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Guerrese
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Chiechi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tursi
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Caiaffa
authors.forename: J Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Haeggstrom
mesh_terms: D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D051545:Cyclooxygenase 1; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010920:Placenta / Q000201:enzymology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; D051545:Cyclooxygenase 1; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496511:PTGS1 protein, human; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases