Hypoxia-induced modulation of mRNA levels of Caveolin-1 and AQP1 in CVS and Swan71

RECA ALEJANDRA; SZPILBARG NATALIA; MOYA GRACIELA; MASKIN BERNARDO; DAMIANO, ALICIA E

Foz de Iguazu

Simposio; V LatinAmerican Symposium on Maternal-Fetal Interaction & Placenta; 2013

Placenta Association of the Americas- Grupo Latinoamericano de placenta

The hypoxic environment of the first trimester is believed to regulate trophoblast differentiation and changes in oxygen concentrations may impact on placental development. Recently, it was suggested that aquaporin-1 (AQP1) and Caveolin-1 may play an important role in angiogenesis. Alterations in both proteins, may contribute to the inadequate remodelling of uteroplacental arteries seen in preeclampsia. Our aim was to evaluate the expression of AQP1 and Caveolin-1 in first trimester human placenta. Chorionic villi samples from ongoing pregnancies (Ethics Committee Approval) and Swan-71 cells were cultured with CoCl2 to simulate hypoxia in vitro. HIF-1a stabilization was confirmed by immunoblotting and gene expression was assessed by semiquantitative RT-PCR. Hypoxia upregulates AQP1-mRNA (by 2.0-fold) in both systems, in accor- dance with the presence of hypoxia-responsive elements in the gene promoter. No differences were observed in Caveolin-1-mRNA. Although further experiments are needed, our findings suggest that AQP1 might be involved in the early events of placentation.