Plasma and tissue expression of the long pentraxin 3 during normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.
OBJECTIVE
Cell death normally occurs during pregnancy and is critical during its common complication, preeclampsia. The long pentraxin 3 (PTX3) gene is generated in tissues that cope with excessive or deregulated cell death and inhibits the cross-presentation of cell-associated antigens. We examined whether PTX3 is expressed during pregnancy and possibly involved in the development of preeclampsia.


METHODS
Women with preeclampsia (n = 30), women with uncomplicated pregnancies (n = 66), age-matched healthy women (n = 50), women who developed acute bacterial infections (n = 20), and women with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 20) were studied. The concentrations of PTX3 were measured in the blood by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and in placentas by immunohistochemistry. The concentrations of PTX3 and C-reactive protein in the various groups were compared by nonparametric tests (the Mann-Whitney U and the Kruskal-Wallis tests). The odds of developing preeclampsia were assessed using logistic regression.


RESULTS
PTX3 was expressed in amniotic epithelium and chorionic mesoderm, trophoblast terminal villi, and perivascular stroma in placentas from pregnancies of uncomplicated subjects. Circulating levels steadily rose during normal gestation and peaked during labor. Serum levels of PTX3 were strikingly higher in preeclampsia compared with normal control pregnancies (5.08 +/- 1.34 and 0.59 +/- 0.07 ng/mL, respectively, P < .001). Sites of higher expression in the placentas from preeclamptic patients include infarcts and fibrinoid zones.


CONCLUSIONS
Defects in the homeostatic response to cell death/remodeling events, revealed by enhanced levels of PTX3, could be implicated in preeclampsia.


METHODS
II-2.
Rovere-Querini
Patrizia
P
Clinical Immunology Unit, Division of Pathology, H. San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy. rovere.patrizia@hsr.it
Antonacci
Simona
S
Dell'Antonio
Giacomo
G
Angeli
Anna
A
Almirante
Giada
G
Cin
Elena Dal
ED
Valsecchi
Luca
L
Lanzani
Chiara
C
Sabbadini
Maria Grazia
MG
Doglioni
Claudio
C
Manfredi
Angelo A
AA
Castiglioni
Maria Teresa
MT
D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000378:metabolism; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000378:metabolism; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component / Q000378:metabolism*; D000099153:Pentraxins
D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component; D000099153:Pentraxins