title: Plasma and tissue expression of the long pentraxin 3 during normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Immunology Unit, Division of Pathology, H. San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy. rovere.patrizia@hsr.it
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rovere-Querini
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Antonacci
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dell'Antonio
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Angeli
authors.forename: Giada
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Almirante
authors.forename: Elena Dal
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Cin
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Valsecchi
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lanzani
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Sabbadini
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Doglioni
authors.forename: Angelo A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Manfredi
authors.forename: Maria Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Castiglioni
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component; D000099153:Pentraxins