EVIDENCE FOR OXYGEN-MEDIATED REGULATION OF AQP4 EXPRESSION IN HUMAN PLACENTA

DI PAOLA MAURICIO; SZPILBARG NATALIA; FARINA MARIANA; CASTRO-PARODI MAURICIO; DAMIANO ALICIA; REPPETTI JULIETA; MARTÍNEZ NORA

Puerto Varas

Simposio; VII LatinAmerican Symposium on Maternal-Fetal Interaction & Placenta; 2017

SLIMP

Preeclampsia is a multisystem syndrome unique to human pregnancy. Aberrations in the remodelling of the spiral arteries lead to fluctuations in the oxygen tension within the placenta. The resulting over-expression of HIF-1α contributes to the dysregulation of numerous genes, which perturbs normal placental functions. The expression of a variety of syncytiotrophoblast transporters is abnormal in preeclamptic placentas. OBJECTIVE: To study the expression of AQP4 in preeclamptic placentas and the effects of changes in oxygen tension on AQP4 expression in placental villous tissue.METHODS: Full-term normal and preeclamptic placental tissues were obtained. Normal placental tissue was cultured under different oxygen conditions. Normal placenta explants were treated with 250 µM CoCl2 (a hypoxia mimicking agent that inhibits HIF-1α). Tissue viability was assessed by the MTT. AQP4 protein expression was analyzed by Western blot and immunohistochemestry. A theoretical analysis of the promoter region of the AQP4 gene was carried out using the MatInspector® tool from Genomatix® .RESULTS: In preeclamptic placentas AQP4 was weakly detectable. In explants from normal placenta cultured in hypoxia AQP4 protein expression increased (p