Korean J Obstet Gynecol.  1999 Aug;42(8):1677-1682.

Gene Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor(VEGF) and Placental Growth Factor(PlGF) in Human Placenta

• Shin JC
• Lee Y
• Chung DY
• Baik EJ
• Oh MJ
• Yang DE
• Kim SJ
• Kim CE
• Kim SP

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To determine whether gene expressions of VEGF and PlGF are different between the human placenta of normal and abnormal pregnancy.
METHODS
Placenta was collected at each trimester of normal pregnancy, missed abortion, intrauterine growth retardation and pre-eclampsia. Total RNA was extracted from placenta. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) was performed using VEGF and PlGF primer.
RESULTS
VEGF121, VEGF165 and VEGF189 were identified in normal pregnancy and missed abortion. In two cases of four IUGR and one case of three pre-eclampsia, four of isoforms (VEGF121, VEGF145, VEGF165, and VEGF189) were identified. The intensity of signal was strongest for VEGF165 in all cases. PlGF131 and PlGF152 were identified in all cases. However, the signal intensities of VEGF121, VEGF165, VEGF189, PlGF131 and PlGF152 were not different according to the gestational age. They were also not different between normal pregnancy and abnormal pregnancy.
CONCLUSION
VEGF and PlGF were not only expressed at placenta but also overexpressed in part of IUGR and pre-eclampsia. The results suggest that VEGF may play a role in the induction of angiogenesis of placenta in normal pregnancy and its production may be increased under the hypoxic condition.

Keyword

Gene expression; VEGF; PlGF; Human placenta

MeSH Terms

Abortion, Missed
Female
Fetal Growth Retardation
Gene Expression*
Gestational Age
Humans*
Placenta*
Pre-Eclampsia
Pregnancy
Protein Isoforms
RNA
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
Protein Isoforms
RNA
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A