Project description:Preeclampsia is a disease of pregnant women, which is characterized by hypertension, proteinuria and chronic inflammation. There is a growing body of evidence that cause of preeclampsia lies within immunological aspect of pregnancy. This study aimed to analyze the role of CD74 in preeclampsia with a focus on its influence on communication between placental macrophages (Hofbauer cells) and trophoblasts. We have found CD74 to be highly dysregulated in preeclamptic placenta by real-time RT-PCR and Western blot methods. We identified Hofbauer cells to express the highest levels of CD74 in placenta by immunofluorescence and flow cytometry and that CD74 in preeclamptic Hofbauer cells is lower than in controls. We have performed a transcriptome analysis on human blood monocyte-derived macrophages that were non- or IL-4-activated and treated with small interfering RNA against CD74 (siRNA CD74) or non-targeting siRNA (siRNA non-targeting) as control.
Project description:Preeclampsia is a common complication of pregnancy that affects 4-5% of pregnant women around the world. At present, there is a lack of early identification of high-risk patients of preeclampsia in clinical practice, which restricts the development of disease prevention and treatment. Previous studies have indicated that plasma exosomal miRNAs in pregnant women could serve as biomarkers of preeclampsia, but few is focused on exosomal miRNAs from preeclampsia pregnancy with severe features(sPE). Therefore, we detected and compared the plasma exosomal miRNA profiles between normal pregancy and sPE to explore potential biomarkers and pathogenic mechanisms of sPE.
2021-11-30 | GSE175807 | GEO
Project description:Oral microbiome in pregnant women with periodontitis
Project description:Pregnant women appear to be at increased risk for severe outcomes associated with COVID-19, but the pathophysiology underlying this increased morbidity and its potential impact on the developing fetus is not well understood. In this study of pregnant women with and without COVID-19, we assessed viral and immune dynamics at the placenta during maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. Viral RNA was only rarely detected in the placentas from SARS-CoV-2-positive women in our cohort, with only 1/11 positive for infection at the maternal-fetal interface. Through bulk RNA transcriptomic analyses, we found that placentas from SARS-CoV-2-positive pregnancies exhibited inflammatory markers of immune activation, even in the majority of samples which did not show local invasion of the virus. These markers are associated with pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and poor fetal outcomes. Overall, this study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 is associated with immune activation at the maternal-fetal interface even in the absence of detectable local viral invasion. While this likely represents a protective mechanism shielding the placenta from infection, inflammatory changes in the placenta may also contribute to poor pregnancy outcomes and thus warrant further investigation.
Project description:Objective: To explore the characteristics and underlying molecular mechanisms of genome-scale expression profiles of women with- or without- GDM and their offspring. Materials and Methods: We recruited a group of 21 pregnant women with GDM and 20 healthy pregnant women as controls. For each pregnant women, RNA-seq were performed using the placenta and paired neonatal umbilical cord blood specimens. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified with BMI of pregnant women as covariates. Then, functional enrichment analysis was performed separately or interactively in placenta and umbilical cord blood. Results: Through the comparison of GDM and healthy samples, 1442 and 488 DEGs were identified from placenta and umbilical cord blood, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the placenta expression profiles of GDM women mirrored the molecular characteristics of type II diabetes and insulin resistance patients. DEGs illustrated significant overlaps among placenta and umbilical cord blood samples, and the overlapping DEGs were associated with endocrine resistance and insulin resistance. Conclusions: Our research demonstrated the transcriptomic alternations of GDM mothers and offspring. Our findings emphasized the importance of epigenetic modifications in the communication between pregnant women with GDM and offspring, and provided reference for the prevention, control, treatment, and intervention of perinatal deleterious events of GDM and neonatal complications.
Project description:Plasma from pregnant women were applied three days in three steps to HUVEC cells. RNAs were isolated and prepared. Four pools of RNAs were obtained, two of them from cells exposed to preeclamptic plasma (2 and 3, corresponding to mild and severe preeclampsia, respectively) and two from cells exposed to normal plasma from pregnant women (five and five).
Project description:The aim of the study was to compare gene expression profiles in decidua basalis from cases with complicated pregnancies to those from healthy pregnant controls. Cases included pregnant women with preeclampsia (PE) and/or fetal growth restriction (FGR). Decidual tissue was obtained by vacuum suction of the placental bed after the placenta was delivered. Women with PE and/or FGR were included as cases. PE was defined as persistent hypertension (blood pressure (BP) ¡Ý 140/90 mm Hg), plus proteinuria (¡Ý0.3g/24 h or ¡Ý2+ according to a dipstick test), developing after 20 weeks of pregnancy. FGR implied birth weight under 2 standard deviations (SD) below the expected birth weight, as related to gestational age (GA) and sex. Due to tissue sampling procedures, only cases delivered by cesarean section (CS) were included. Healthy women with normal pregnancies, undergoing CS for various reasons considered irrelevant to the aim of this study (e. g. breech presentation and previous CS), served as controls. Tissue was immediately submerged in a RNA stabilisation solution (RNAlater, Ambion, Huntingdon, U.K.), incubated at 4¡ãC overnight and stored at -80¡ãC
Project description:We performed a LC-FAIMS-MS proteomics of early pregnancy (11–14 weeks of gestation) serum from the pregnant women who developed preeclampsia (n = 11) and those from the noraml pregnant women (n = 12).
Project description:Pregnant women appear to be at increased risk for severe outcomes associated with COVID-19, but the pathophysiology underlying this increased morbidity and its potential impact on the developing fetus is not well understood. In this study of pregnant women with and without COVID-19, we assessed viral and immune dynamics at the placenta during maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. Amongst uninfected women, ACE2 was detected by immunohistochemistry in syncytiotrophoblast cells of the normal placenta during early pregnancy but was rarely seen in healthy placentas at full term. Term placentas from women infected with SARS-CoV-2, however, displayed a significant increase in ACE2 levels. Using immortalized cell lines and primary isolated placental cells, we determined the vulnerability of various placental cell types to direct infection by SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Yet, despite the susceptibility of placental cells to SARS-CoV-2 infection, viral RNA was detected in the placentas of only a subset (∼13%) of women in this cohort. Through single cell transcriptomic analyses, we found that the maternal-fetal interface of SARS-CoV-2-infected women exhibited markers associated with pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia, and robust immune responses, including increased activation of placental NK and T cells and increased expression of interferon-related genes. Overall, this study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 is associated with immune activation at the maternal-fetal interface even in the absence of detectable local viral invasion. While this likely represents a protective mechanism shielding the placenta from infection, inflammatory changes in the placenta may also contribute to poor pregnancy outcomes and thus warrant further investigation.