title: A comparative study of the effect of three different syncytiotrophoblast micro-particles preparations on endothelial cells.
abstract: Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy-associated multi-system disorder of unknown etiology, characterized by damage to the maternal endothelium. The latter facet has been suggested to be mediated in part by elevated shedding of inflammatory placental syncytiotrophoblast micro-particles (STBM) into the maternal circulation. In this study, we have examined STBM prepared by three different methods: mechanical dissection, in vitro placental explant culture and perfusion of placental cotyledons. All three preparations yielded morphologically similar STBM, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, and all contained syncytiotrophoblast-specific proteins as determined by the presence of placental alkaline phosphatase. The functional properties of the three STBM preparations were examined on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), where the mechanically prepared particles were found to inhibit proliferation to the greatest extent. Furthermore, only mechanically prepared STBM lead to the detachment and apoptosis of HUVEC cells. Our study, therefore, suggests that STBM prepared from placental perfusion or in vitro explant culture are biologically different from mechanically prepared ones, and may provide a better approximation of physiologically produced placental micro-particles.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Prenatal Medicine, University Women's Hospital/Department of Research, University of Basel, CH-4031 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rusterholz
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Huppertz
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malek
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Holzgreve
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hahn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D017209:Apoptosis; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002824:Chorionic Villi / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004210:Dissection; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D008871:Microvilli / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D010316:Particle Size; D010477:Perfusion; D011247:Pregnancy; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D014471:Umbilical Veins / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D007527:Isoenzymes; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; C019839:alkaline phosphatase, placental