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. 2018 May;17(5):6435-6440.
doi: 10.3892/mmr.2018.8721. Epub 2018 Mar 9.

Placental expression of PAPPA, PAPPA-2 and PLAC-1 in pregnacies is associated with FGR

Stavros Sifakis  1 , Vasilis P Androutsopoulos  2 , Artemis Pontikaki  1 , Alexis Velegrakis  3 , George I Papaioannou  4 , Ourania Koukoura  5 , Demetrios A Spandidos  2 , Nikos Papantoniou  6
Affiliations

Placental expression of PAPPA, PAPPA-2 and PLAC-1 in pregnacies is associated with FGR

Stavros Sifakis et al. Mol Med Rep. 2018 May.

Abstract

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is a gynecological disorder of varying etiology. In the present study, an expression analysis of pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPPA), pregnancy-associated plasma protein A2 (PAPPA2) and placenta-specific-1 (PLAC-1) was conducted in pregnancies with FGR and control pregnancies. Placental tissues were collected from pregnancies with FGR (n=16) and control pregnancies (n=16) and the expression of the genes of interest was examined by qPCR. The mean expression levels of PAPPA and PAPPA2 were significantly lower (P<0.001) in placental tissues from FGR pregnancies compared with tissues from healthy subjects, whereas the opposite pattern was observed for PLAC-1 (P<0.001). PAPPA and PLAC-1 expression in FGR and control subjects correlated with birth weight (P<0.001). The findings suggest a possible pathophysiological link between the development of FGR and the expression of PAPPA, PAPPA2 and PLAC-1.

Keywords: FGR; PAPPA; PAPPA2; PLAC-1; pregnancy.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The placental expression levels of the markers PAPPA, PAPPA2 and PLAC-1 in FGR and control pregnancies. The expression levels were evaluated by qPCR analysis and normalized against the housekeeping genes GAPDH and TOP1. The results are expressed as mean ± SD for FGR patients (n=16) and control pregnancies (n=16). Statistical differences were determined using independent samples t-test and the level of significance was set at 0.05. PAPPA, pregnancy-associated plasma protein A; PAPPA2, pregnancy-associated plasma protein A2; PLAC-1, placenta-specific-1; FGR, fetal growth restriction; SD, standard deviation.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Correlation analysis of PAPPA, PAPPA2 and PLAC-1 expression with birth weight in FGR and control pregnancies. The results are expressed as correlation scatter plots for FGR patients (n=16) and control pregnancies (n=16) in each plot. The significant differences and the Pearson's coefficient r were determined using Pearson's correlation analysis and the level of significance was set at 0.05. PAPPA, pregnancy-associated plasma protein A; PAPPA2, pregnancy-associated plasma protein A2; PLAC-1, placenta-specific-1; FGR, fetal growth restriction.
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