ABSTRACT
Placental pathology in preeclampsia (PE) and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR)
is associated with alterations of the placental epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).
It is encoded by a single gene, which gives rise to two different full-length transcripts
and one putative truncated transcript in the placenta. The aim was to investigate
if the placental mRNA expression pattern of EGFR differs between women with PE and/or
IUGR and normal pregnancies. Tissue samples from placentas were obtained immediately
after delivery. Total nucleic acids were prepared and mRNA levels of EGFR transcripts
were measured by a solution hybridization technique. In the group with IUGR the placental
mRNA expression of the two full-length transcripts was found to be significantly lower
than in placentas from normal pregnancy, whereas the expression of the truncated transcript
was higher. The groups with PE or PE with IUGR had a significantly higher mRNA expression
of the truncated transcript, while there were no significant differences in the mRNA
expression of the two full-length transcripts. These findings are consistent with
an important role for EGFR in the regulation of placental and fetal growth.
Keywords
Placenta - EGFR - preeclampsia - IUGR
