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Nitric oxide synthase and VEGF expression in full-term placentas of obese women
- Source :
- Histochemistry and Cell Biology. 152:415-422
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2019.
-
Abstract
- An adequate placental vascularization allows the proper development of the fetus and it is crucial for the gestational success. A number of factors regulate angiogenesis, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which induces the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO), a potent vasodilator produced by three different nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms. NO is essential to maintain a low vascular resistance in the fetoplacental circulation, although at high concentrations, it may combine with excess superoxide to produce peroxynitrite, which reacts with proteins giving rise to nitrotyrosine. Since obesity, whose incidence is increasing worldwide, is characterized by a low-grade inflammatory state and increased levels of oxidative and nitrative stress, both affecting placental function, our aim was to evaluate the expression of VEGF, eNOS, and iNOS in full-term placentas obtained from normal weight and pre-pregnancy obese women by means of immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR. Moreover, we assessed the NO levels and the nitrotyrosine immunoexpression in the same sample groups. Our results show a significantly higher immunohistochemical expression of VEGF and eNOS in the endothelium of placentas from obese women than in controls, whereas the immunoexpression of iNOS was comparable in the two groups. These data agree with those of the gene expression analysis, thus suggesting the possible existence of a compensatory mechanism for changes in placental blood flow associated with obesity. As concerns nitrotyrosine and NO levels, we observed a significant increase in placental tissue from obese women which may contribute to the development of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases both in the mother and the offspring.
- Subjects :
- Adult
0301 basic medicine
medicine.medical_specialty
Histology
Endothelium
Placenta
Nitric Oxide
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
Nitric oxide
03 medical and health sciences
chemistry.chemical_compound
Pregnancy
Enos
Internal medicine
medicine
Humans
Obesity
Molecular Biology
030102 biochemistry & molecular biology
biology
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
business.industry
Nitrotyrosine
Cell Biology
biology.organism_classification
Immunohistochemistry
Vascular endothelial growth factor
Nitric oxide synthase
Medical Laboratory Technology
030104 developmental biology
Endocrinology
medicine.anatomical_structure
chemistry
biology.protein
Tyrosine
Female
Nitric Oxide Synthase
business
Peroxynitrite
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 1432119X and 09486143
- Volume :
- 152
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Histochemistry and Cell Biology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....a774a693dcdb7f996e37535afcce4f05