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Molecular Human Reproduction, Vol. 9, No. 4, 199-203, April 2003
© 2003 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Article

Inhibin, activin, follistatin, activin receptors and ß-glycan gene expression in the placental tissue of patients with pre-eclampsia

Submitted on November 28, 2002; accepted on January 8, 2003

D. Casagrandi1, C. Bearfield1, J. Geary2, C.W. Redman3 and S. Muttukrishna1,4

1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Royal Free UCL Medical School, 86–96 Chenies Mews, London WC1E 6HX, 2 Department of Haematology, University College London, 88, Chenies Mews, London, 3 Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK

4 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, RFUCL Medical School, 86–96 Chenies Mews, London WC1E 6HX, UK. e-mail: s.muttukrishna{at}ucl.ac.uk

The objective of this study was to quantify the relative expression of inhibin {alpha}, inhibin/activin ßA, ßB, ßC, follistatin, activin receptors and ß-glycan genes in placental tissue of term pre-eclamptic patients and controls to investigate if these genes are up-regulated in the placenta in pre-eclampsia. Seven women with pre-eclampsia symptoms were matched with 10 normal pregnant controls for gestational age, maternal age, and parity. Total RNA was isolated from each sample. Complementary DNA samples produced by reverse transcription were used in the real time PCR to quantify the expression of inhibin {alpha} subunit, inhibin/activin ßA, ßB, ßC subunits, follistatin, ACTRIA, ACTRIB, ACTRIIA, ACTRIIB, ß-glycan and GAPDH genes. The ratio between the target and GAPDH expression was calculated to provide relative gene expression. Inhibin {alpha}:GAPDH and inhibin/activin ßA:GAPDH ratios were significantly higher in placental tissue from women with pre-eclampsia (P = 0.04 and P = 0.01 respectively) compared with matched control placental gene expression. Placental samples from both groups expressed ßB, ßC, follistatin, activin receptors and ß-glycan genes. However, there was no significant difference in the relative expression of these genes between the groups. Increases in the placental expression of inhibin {alpha} and inhibin/activin ßA subunit genes could contribute to the rise in circulating levels of inhibin A and activin A in pre-eclampsia. The mechanism(s) involved in increased gene expression in pre-eclampsia is as yet unclear.

Key words: activin/activin receptors/ß-glycan/follistatin/inhibin


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