No abstract available.
Cholesterol* ; Female ; Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced* ; Lipoproteins* ; Metabolism* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy*

To investigate the expressions of placental growth factor (PLGF) in placenta with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), 45 women with HDP and 20 normally pregnant women were studied. Among 45 women with HDP, there were 23 cases of severe preeclampsia and one case of eclampsia. The location and level of PLGF proteins was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The expression of PLGF mRNA in placenta was assessed by reverse transcriptional-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results showed that: (1) The distribution of PLGF in placenta with HDP was similar to normal one, which was mainly in the cytoplasm of villous syncytiotrophoblast and villous stroma; (2) The expression of PLGF protein was significantly decreased in placentas with mild and severe preeclampsia compared to the normal ones (0.3 +/- 0.4 vs 0.6 +/- 0.4, 0.2 +/- 0.5 vs 0.6 +/- 0.4, P < 0.01). There were no differences between the gestational hypertension placenta and normal one (0.5 +/- 0.6 vs 0.6 +/- 0.4, P > 0.05); (3) The transcription levels of the PLGF mRNA in placentas with preeclampsia were significantly lower than in normal groups (3.33 +/- 0.39 vs 4.87 +/- 0.60, 1.97 +/- 0.29 vs 4.87 +/- 0.60, P < 0.01), and no differences were found between the gestational hypertension placenta and normal groups. These findings suggest that the abnormal expression of PLGF in placentas is related to the pathogenesis of HDP.
Placenta/*metabolism ; Pre-Eclampsia/*metabolism ; Pregnancy/*metabolism ; Pregnancy Proteins/*biosynthesis ; Pregnancy Proteins/genetics

OBJECTIVETo investigate the association between the pregnancy rate of intrauterine insemination (IUI) and the ERp57 expression level in donor sperm.

METHODSForty-two sperm samples were divided into 3 groups according to the pregnancy rate: Group A (n = 16, pregnancy rate = 0), B (n = 13, pregnancy rate 10%-20%) and C (n = 13, pregnancy rate > or = 20%). The optical density (OD) was normalized to the beta-tubulin band for the evaluation of the ERp57 level.

RESULTSOD (ERp57/Tubulin) was 0.95 +/- 0.24 in Group A, 1.33 +/- 0.43 in Group B and 1.33 +/- 0.39 in Group C. The ERp57 expression level was significantly lower in Group A than in B and C (P < 0.05), with no significant differences between the latter two groups.

CONCLUSIONThe ERp57 expression level in donor sperm could be used as an index to predict the pregnancy rate of IUI and to avoid IUI failure by removing low-level donor sperm.

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Insemination, Artificial ; methods ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Protein Disulfide-Isomerases ; metabolism ; Spermatozoa ; metabolism

Obtaining high-quality embryos is one of the key factors to improve the clinical pregnancy rate of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). So far, the clinical evaluation of embryo quality depends on embryo morphology. However, the clinical pregnancy rate is still low. Therefore, new indicators are needed to further improve the evaluation of embryo quality. Several studies have shown that the decrease of sperm-specific protein actin-like 7A (ACTL7A) leaded to low fertilization rate, poor embryo development, and even infertility. The aim of this study was to study whether the different expression levels of ACTL7A on sperm can be used as a biomarker for predicting embryo quality. In this study, excluding the factors of severe female infertility, a total of 281 sperm samples were collected to compare the ACTL7A expression levels of sperms with high and low effective embryo rates and analyze the correlation between protein levels and in-vitro fertilization (IVF) laboratory outcomes. Our results indicated that the ACTL7A levels were significantly reduced in sperm samples presenting poor embryo quality. Furthermore, the protein levels showed a significant correlation with fertilization outcomes of ART. ACTL7A has the potential to be a biomarker for predicting success rate of fertilization and effective embryo and the possibility of embryo arrest. In conclusion, sperm-specific protein ACTL7A has a strong correlation with IVF laboratory outcomes and plays important roles in fertilization and embryo development.
Biomarkers/metabolism* ; Female ; Fertilization ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Humans ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted ; Spermatozoa/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: To determine the apoptosis in placenta tissues of patients with hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy and its relationship with Bcl-2, TGFbeta1, and to explore the etiology of hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy. METHODS: Forty-five placenta samples were obtained from pregnancies with hypertensive disorder (15 gestational hypertension, 15 mild preeclampsia, and 15 severe preeclampsia) and 45 normal placenta tissues were enrolled from the third-trimester pregnancies. Immunohistochemistry (SP method) was used to study the expression of Bcl-2 and TGFbeta1 in human trophoblasts. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) was used to quantify the incidence of apoptosis in human trophoblasts. RESULTS: The apoptosis rate and TGFbeta1 expression in hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy group was higher than that in the control group, but the Bcl-2 expression was significantly lower than the control group (all Ps<0.01). With the aggravation of this illness, the apoptosis rate and TGFbeta1 expression in the gestational hypertension group, mild preeclampsia group, and severe preeclampsia tended to be increasing, but the Bcl-2 expression was decreasing (P<0.001). The apoptosis of placenta villi and TGFbeta1 expression were positively correlated in the severe preeclampsia group and mild preeclampsia group,but the apoptosis of placenta villi and Bcl-2 were negatively correlated (all Ps<0.05). TGFbeta1 and Bcl-2 expressions in the severe preeclampsia group and mild preeclampsia group were negatively correlated (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Apoptosis of the placental trophoblasts of pregnancies with hypertensive disorder is evidently enhanced. The TGFbeta1 expression increases and the Bcl-2 expression decreases. The imbalance between TGFbeta1 and Bcl-2 expression may induce the hypertensive disorder.
Adult ; Apoptosis ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced ; metabolism ; Placenta ; cytology ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism

Preeclampsia is one of the most important and complexed disorders for women's health. Searching for novel proteins as biomarkers to reveal pathogenesis, proteomic approaches using 2DE has become a valuable tool to understanding of preeclampsia. To analyze the proteomic profiling of preclamptic placenta compared to that of normal pregnancy for better understanding of pathogenesis in preeclampsia, placentas from each group were handled by use of proteomics approach using 2DE combined with MALDI-TOF-MS. The 20 spots of showing differences were analysed and identified. Among differentially expressed protein spots Hsp 27 and Hsp 70 were selected for validation using Western blot analysis. In preeclamptic placenta 9 differentially expressed proteins were down-regulated with Hsp 70, serum albumin crystal structure chain A, lamin B2, cytokeratin 18, actin cytoplasmic, alpha fibrinogen precursor, septin 2, dihydrolipoamide branched chain transacylase E2 and firbrinogen beta chain. The 11 up-regulated proteins were fibrinogen gamma, cardiac muscle alpha actin proprotein, cytokeratin 8, calumenin, fibrinogen fragment D, F-actin capping protein alpha-1 subunit, Hsp 27, Hsp 40, annexin A4, enoyl-CoA delta isomerase and programmed cell death protein 6. The western blot analysis for validation also showed significant up-regulation of Hsp 27 and down-regulation of Hsp 70 in the placental tissues with preeclmaptic pregnancies. This proteomic profiling of placenta using 2DE in preeclampsia successfully identifies various proteins involved in apoptosis, mitochondrial dysfunction, as well as three Hsps with altered expression, which might play a important role for the understanding of pathogenesis in preeclampsia.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Placenta/*metabolism ; Pre-Eclampsia/*metabolism ; Pregnancy/*metabolism ; Proteome/*metabolism ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity

As placenta barrier controls material exchanges between mother and fetus during pregnancy, studies on the placental transport mechanism of drugs is of great importance to analyze the efficacy, safety and toxicity of drugs. BeWo cells are derived from human choriocarcinomas, which can form monolayer trophoblast cells to offers an efficient placenta barrier in vitro for estimating nutrient and drug intake, efflux and transport. This essay focuses on the establishment and characteristics of BeWo cell model, and the advance on studies on nutrient and drug intake, efflux and transport mechanism by applying the model.
Biological Transport ; Choriocarcinoma ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Placenta ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Tumor Cells, Cultured ; metabolism ; Uterine Neoplasms ; metabolism

Objective: To characterize the relationship between the levels of plasma methyl donor and related metabolites (including choline, betaine, methionine, dimethylglycine and homocysteine) and fetal growth in twin pregnancies. Methods: A hospital-based cohort study was used to collect clinical data of 92 pregnant women with twin pregnancies and their fetuses who were admitted to Peking University Third Hospital from March 2017 to January 2018. Fasting blood was collected from the pregnant women with twin pregnancies (median gestational age: 18.9 weeks). The levels of methyl donors and related metabolites in plasma were quantitatively analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry. The generalized estimation equation was used to analyze the relationship between maternal plasma methyl donors and related metabolites levels and neonatal outcomes of twins, and the generalized additive mixed model was used to analyze the relationship between maternal plasma methyl donors and related metabolites levels and fetal growth ultrasound indicators. Results: (1) General clinical data: of the 92 women with twin pregnancies, 66 cases (72%) were dichorionic diamniotic (DCDA) twin pregnancies, and 26 cases (28%) were monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twin pregnancies. The comparison of the levels of five plasma methyl donors and related metabolites in twin pregnancies with different basic characteristics showed that the median levels of plasma choline and betaine in pregnant women ≥35 years old were higher than those in pregnant women <35 years old, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). (2) Correlation between plasma methyl donor and related metabolites levels and neonatal growth indicators: after adjusting for confounding factors, plasma homocysteine level in pregnant women with twins was significantly negatively correlated with neonatal birth weight (β=-47.9, 95%CI:-94.3- -1.6; P=0.043). Elevated methionine level was significantly associated with decreased risks of small for gestational age infants (SGA; OR=0.5, 95%CI: 0.3-0.9; P=0.021) and low birth weight infants (OR=0.6, 95%CI: 0.4-0.9; P=0.020). Increased homocysteine level was associated with increased risks of SGA (OR=1.5, 95%CI: 1.0-2.2; P=0.029) and inconsistent growth in twin fetuses (OR=1.9, 95%CI: 1.0-3.7; P=0.049). (3) Correlation between the levels of plasma methyl donors and related metabolites and intrauterine growth indicators of twins pregnancies: for every 1 standard deviation increase in plasma choline level in pregnant women with twin pregnancies, fetal head circumference, abdominal circumference, femoral length and estimated fetal weight in the second trimester increased by 1.9 mm, 2.6 mm, 0.5 mm and 20.1 g, respectively, and biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference and estimated fetal weight increased by 0.7 mm, 3.0 mm and 38.4 g in the third trimester, respectively, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). (4) Relationship between plasma methyl donor and related metabolites levels in pregnant women with different chorionicity and neonatal birth weight and length: the negative correlation between plasma homocysteine level and neonatal birth weight was mainly found in DCDA twin pregnancy (β=-65.9, 95%CI:-110.6- -21.1; P=0.004). The levels of choline, betaine and dimethylglycine in plasma of MCDA twin pregnancy were significantly correlated with the birth weight and length of newborns (all P<0.05). Conclusion: Homocysteine level is associated with low birth weight in twins, methionine is associated with decreased risk of SGA, and choline is associated with fetal growth in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy/metabolism* ; Betaine/metabolism* ; Birth Weight/physiology* ; Choline/metabolism* ; Cohort Studies ; Fetal Development/physiology* ; Fetal Weight/physiology* ; Homocysteine/metabolism* ; Methionine/metabolism* ; Pregnancy, Twin/physiology* ; Biomarkers/metabolism* ; Pregnancy Trimesters/physiology* ; Pregnancy Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) may increase oxidative stress in women with PIH, and to explore the mechanisms by which PIH may increase oxidative stress and potential free radical damage.

METHODSSeventy women with PIH and seventy women with uncomplicated normotensive pregnancy (UNP) whose age, nutritional conditions, levels of hemoglobin and albumin were all matched, were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. Their plasma concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), vitamin C (VC), vitamin E (VE), and beta-carotene (beta-CAR) as well as their erythrocyte malondialdehyde (MDA), and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were determined by spectrophotometry.

RESULTSCompared with average values of the above experimental parameters in the women with UNP, the average value of erythrocyte MDA in the women with PIH significantly increased (P<0.0001), while the average values of plasma NO, VC, VE, and beta-CAR as well as those of erythrocyte SOD, CAT, and GPX in the women with PIH significantly decreased (P<0.0005-0.0001). The findings from partial correlation analysis (controlling for age) for 70 women with PIH showed that with elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), MDA value gradually increased (P<0.001), and NO, VC, VE, beta-CAR, SOD, CAT, and GPX values gradually decreased (P<0.02-0.001). The findings from reliability analysis for NO, VC, VE, beta-CAR, SOD, CAT, GPX, and MDA values used to reflect increased oxidative stress and potential free radical damage in women with PIH showed that the reliability coefficients (alpha, 8 items) = 0.7062, P<0.0001, and the standardized item alpha = 0.9116, P<0.0001.

CONCLUSIONThe findings in the present research suggest that pregnancy-induced hypertension can increase oxidative stress and potential free radical damage in women with pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Free Radicals ; metabolism ; Humans ; Hypertension ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular ; metabolism

C-Terminal carboxyl methylation of a human placental 23 kDa protein catalyzed by membrane-associated methyltransferase has been investigated. The 23 kDa protein substrate methylated was partially purified by DEAE-Sephacel, hydroxyapatite and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration chromatographies. The substrate protein was eluted on Sephadex G-100 gel filtration chromatography as a protein of about 29 kDa. In the absence of Mg2+, the methylation was stimulated by guanine nucleotides (GTP, GDP and GTPgammaS), but in the presence of Mg2+, only GTPgammaS stimulated the methylation which was similar to the effect on the G25K/rhoGDI complex. AFC, an inhibitor of C-terminal carboxyl methylation, inhibited the methylation of human placental 23 kDa protein. These results suggests that the substrate is a small G protein different from the G25K and is methylated on C-terminal isoprenylated cysteine residue. This was also confirmed by vapor phase analysis. The methylated substrate protein was redistributed to membrane after in vitro methylation, suggesting that the methylation of this protein is important for the redistribution of the 23 kDa small G protein for its putative role in intracellular signaling.
Cysteine/metabolism* ; Female ; GTP-Binding Proteins/metabolism* ; Guanine Nucleotides/pharmacology ; Human ; Methylation ; Placenta/metabolism* ; Placenta/enzymology ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Proteins/metabolism* ; Protein Methyltransferases/metabolism*