Live and let die - regulation of villous trophoblast apoptosis in normal and abnormal pregnancies.
Since 1995 the number of publications investigating apoptosis in villous trophoblast has increased exponentially. This scientific interest is in part due to observations that this specialised form of cell death is increased in pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia and intra-uterine growth restriction. In addition, apoptosis is described in normal villous trophoblast and elements of the apoptotic machinery are involved in the fusion between cytotrophoblast and the overlying multinucleate syncytiotrophoblast. The increase in descriptions of apoptotic cell death in villous trophoblast has been accompanied by investigations of regulators of apoptosis. It is anticipated that understanding the regulation of apoptosis in villous trophoblast may provide new insights into placental pathologies. This review describes current knowledge regarding the expression and function of these regulators in villous trophoblast, both in normal and complicated pregnancies.
Heazell
A E P
AE
Maternal and Fetal Health Research Group, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester M13 0JH, UK. alex_heazell@talk21.com
Crocker
I P
IP
D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D020169:Caspases / Q000502:physiology; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21 / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D010920:Placenta / Q000166:cytology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000502:physiology; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000502:physiology
D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D020169:Caspases