title: Decreased placental expression of hPGH, IGF-I and IGFBP-1 in pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The human Placental Growth Hormone (hPGH) and the Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) system are implicated in fetal development. This study aimed to evaluate the expression of hPGH, IGF-I, IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3 genes in placentas from pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction (FGR).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group was comprised of term placentas from 47 FGR-complicated pregnancies of no recognizable cause. Thirty-seven placentas from normal pregnancies with appropriate for gestational age birth weight were used as controls. The expression status of the genes was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  hPGH, IGF-I and IGFBP-1 exhibited significantly lower expression compared to the controls (p=0.003, p=0.049 and p=0.001, respectively). Numerically, lower IGFBP-3 expression was also demonstrated in the FGR-affected group, without however reaching statistical significance (p=0.129). Significant co-expression patterns were detected among the study genes in both the FGR and normal pregnancies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Decreased placental expression levels of hPGH, IGF-I and IGFBP-1 were demonstrated in pregnancies with FGR. Whether these alterations are a causative factor of FGR or accompany other pathogenetic mechanisms requires further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Virology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koutsaki
authors.forename: Stavros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sifakis
authors.forename: Apostolos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zaravinos
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Koutroulakis
authors.forename: Ourania
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Koukoura
authors.forename: Demetrios A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Spandidos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D018970:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D010926:Placental Hormones / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C032231:IGFBP1 protein, human; D018970:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 1; D010926:Placental Hormones; D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I