title: Autophagy in the placenta of women with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Autophagy has not been studied extensively in the human placenta. This study was performed to determine whether autophagy is increased in the placentas of women with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy compared to normotensive pregnancies.
  
  
  METHODS
  LC3-II and p62 protein expression were examined by quantitative Western blotting analysis in 40 placentas from women not experiencing labor pains. The 40 placentas were from 13, 8, and 19 women with preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and normal pregnancy, respectively. Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy included preeclampsia and gestational hypertension.
  
  
  RESULTS
  LC3-II expression was significantly increased, while that of p62 was significantly reduced in 21 placentas of women with hypertensive disorders compared to those with normal blood pressure irrespective of the presence or absence of fetal growth restriction (FGR). LC3-II expression was also significantly increased in 13 placentas of women with preeclampsia irrespective of the presence or absence of FGR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study suggested that autophagy is active in the placenta of hypertensive disorders even in the absence of FGR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Akaishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan. Electronic address: taka0197@med.hokudai.ac.jp.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal-Fetal Biology, National Research Institute for Child Health, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakabayashi
authors.affiliation: Departments of Translational Pathology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nishihara
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Furuta
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Minakami
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D001343:Autophagy / Q000502:physiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D046110:Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D000071456:Sequestosome-1 Protein
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D015415:Biomarkers; C477012:MAP1LC3A protein, human; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; C099718:SQSTM1 protein, human; D000071456:Sequestosome-1 Protein
keywords: Autophagy; Gestational hypertension; Preeclampsia; Pregnancy-induced hypertension