Expression of angiogenesis- and apoptosis-related genes in chorionic villi derived from recurrent pregnancy loss patients.
Angiogenesis takes place during embryogenesis, characterized by the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones. This biological process is also found in the female reproductive system, wound healing, and cancer development. Apoptosis, programmed cell death, is a physiological process in development, tissue homeostasis, and disease. Apoptosis is a normal event in several reproductive tissues including human placenta. In these studies, we investigated whether aberrant angiogenesis and apoptosis are associated with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). We compared the gene expression level for angiogenesis- and apoptosis-related genes in chorionic villi from RPL patients and those from normal controls. Semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis revealed that 7 angiogenesis- and 12 apoptosis-related genes were abnormally expressed in chorionic villi from RPL patients. Angiogenesis-related genes that showed aberrant expression level are matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI), integrin, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and leptin receptor. Expression levels for these genes, except for leptin receptor, showed less in chorionic villi from RPL patients than those from normal controls. In contrast, higher expression levels of 12 apoptosis-related genes (caspase 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, BAD, BAX, BID, Fas, and FasL) were shown in chorionic villi from RPL patients than those from normal controls. Taken all together, it is likely that the lower expression of angiogenesis-related genes and the excessive expression of apoptosis-related genes are associated with RPL.
Choi
Hee-Kyung
HK
College of Medicine, Pochon CHA University, and Cell and Gene Therapy Research Institute, Seoul, Korea.
Choi
Bum Chae
BC
Lee
Sook-Hwan
SH
Kim
Jeong Wook
JW
Cha
Kwang Yul
KY
Baek
Kwang-Hyun
KH
D000026:Abortion, Habitual / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002824:Chorionic Villi / Q000378:metabolism*; D015193:Chorionic Villi Sampling; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction