title: No change in calreticulin with fetal growth restriction in human and rat pregnancies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Calreticulin is a ubiquitously expressed protein that was detected in the circulation and is significantly increased in maternal blood during human pregnancy compared to the non-pregnant state. Calreticulin is further increased in the plasma of women with the pregnancy-related disorder pre-eclampsia compared to normotensive pregnancy. The aims of this study were to compare calreticulin in human pregnancy with calreticulin in rat pregnancy, and to compare calreticulin during fetal growth restriction with normal control pregnancies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women were recruited who either had normal pregnancies or had pregnancies complicated with fetal growth restriction; maternal blood samples and placentas were collected. Blood was also taken from women who were not-pregnant. Growth restriction was induced in pregnant rats by uterine vessel ligation; blood and placental samples were collected. Blood was also taken from non-pregnant rats. Western blot was used to quantify the placental expression of calreticulin and the concentrations of calreticulin in plasma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although calreticulin was significantly increased in maternal plasma during human pregnancy compared to the non-pregnant state; it did not increase in plasma during rat pregnancy. These results suggest that there may be differences in the role of extracellular calreticulin in human compared to rat pregnancy. Calreticulin was not significantly altered in either placental extracts or maternal plasma in both the human and rat pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction compared to gestational matched control pregnancies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study found that there was no change in calreticulin during human pregnancy complicated with fetal growth restriction or when growth restriction is induced in rats.
authors: Department of Perinatal Medicine, Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville 3052, Victoria, Australia; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3052, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: kimberley.crawford@monash.edu.
authors: K E
authors: KE
authors: Crawford
authors: J L
authors: JL
authors: Stevenson
authors: M E
authors: ME
authors: Wlodek
authors: N M
authors: NM
authors: Gude
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D037282:Calreticulin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D008026:Ligation; D008297:Male; D010920:Placenta / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D010929:Placentation; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000209:etiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D013045:Species Specificity; D014463:Ultrasonography; D015854:Up-Regulation; D055988:Uterine Artery; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C576483:CALR protein, human; D037282:Calreticulin
keywords: Calreticulin; Fetal growth restriction; Human; Pregnancy; Rat