HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 68/6/1968    most recent biolreprod.102.008029v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal My Folders Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mu, J. Articles by Ichikawa, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mu, J. Articles by Ichikawa, A. Agricola Articles by Mu, J. Articles by Ichikawa, A.

Apoptosis and Related Proteins in Placenta of Intrauterine Fetal Death in Prostaglandin F Receptor-Deficient Mice¹

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,³ Radiation Biology,⁴ Osaka University, Faculty of Medicine, Osaka 565-0871, Japan Department of Physiological Chemistry,⁵ Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan

The present study investigated whether the increase of apoptosis in the placenta is associated with intrauterine fetal death in prostaglandin F receptor-deficient mice. Apoptosis was demonstrated within placental and decidual tissue by the TUNEL method. The majority of apoptosis was found in syncytiotrophoblast tissues. Enhanced TUNEL-positive staining in the syncytiotrophoblast layer was scattered in the placental tissues in clusters of apoptotic cells in the death group. Marked TUNEL-positive cells were identified in decidua of both groups. The rate of apoptosis in the placenta and decidua in the death group was higher than that in the survival group (P < 0.05). Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the level of active caspase-3 protein expression in the placenta in the death group was much higher than that in the survival group. The level of Bcl-2 protein expression in the placenta in the death group was much lower than that in the survival group. Western blot analysis demonstrated that increased expression of the active form of caspase-3 was detected in the placenta and decidua in the death group compared with that in the survival group. In contrast, a decrease in the expression of Bcl-2 was detected in the placenta and decidua in the death group compared with that in the survival group. Enhanced expression of Bax:Bcl-2 ratio was detected in placenta and decidua in the death group compared with that in the survival group. Thus, significantly increased apoptosis in the mouse placenta and decidua might be involved in the pathophysiologic mechanism of intrauterine fetal death.

¹ Supported in part by grant 13671711 from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.

² Correspondence: Junwu Mu, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Osaka University, Faculty of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka Suita, Osaka, 565-0871 Japan. FAX: 81 6 6879 3359; mujunwu{at}hotmail.com

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J.-I. Chae, S.-K. Cho, J.-W. Seo, T.-S. Yoon, K.-S. Lee, J.-H. Kim, K.-K. Lee, Y.-M. Han, and K. Yu Proteomic Analysis of the Extraembryonic Tissue from Cloned Porcine Embryos Mol. Cell. Proteomics, September 1, 2006; 5(9): 1559 - 1566. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. H. Bech, E. A. Nohr, M. Vaeth, T. B. Henriksen, and J. Olsen Coffee and Fetal Death: A Cohort Study with Prospective Data Am. J. Epidemiol., November 15, 2005; 162(10): 983 - 990. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]