Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (12)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wetzka, B.
Right arrow Articles by Smith, S. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wetzka, B.
Right arrow Articles by Smith, S. K.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Human Reproduction, Vol 12, 2313-2320, Copyright © 1997 by Oxford University Press

ARTICLES

Cyclooxygenase-1 and -2 in human placenta and placental bed after normal and pre-eclamptic pregnancies

B Wetzka, R Nusing, DS Charnock-Jones, W Schafer, HP Zahradnik and SK Smith
Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, Universitatsfrauenklinik Freiburg, Germany.

In pre-eclampsia, the ratio of prostacyclin:thromboxane production rate is decreased favouring the vasoconstrictive thromboxane. One of the rate-limiting steps in prostaglandin synthesis is cyclooxygenase (COX) activity. Therefore, we investigated the expression of COX-1 and COX-2 in human placenta and placental bed. Tissue specimens from the 29th to 40th week of pregnancy were obtained from Caesarean sections after uncomplicated and pre-eclamptic pregnancies before the onset of labour. COX-1 and COX-2 were localized immunohistochemically with the identification of positive cells by double immunofluorescence staining. The protein and mRNA levels were analysed by immunoblotting and quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Expression of both COX-1 and COX-2 could be observed in placenta and placental bed. COX-1-like immunoreactivity was observed in most cell types with strongest staining in macrophages. Only macrophages, endothelium, vascular leiomyocytes and fibroblasts stained positively for COX-2. In placenta, COX-1 and -2 expression was unchanged after pre- eclampsia. In placental bed, protein and mRNA levels of COX-1 were increased in the pre-eclamptic group (P < 0.05), whereas COX-2 expression did not differ significantly from normal pregnancies. An increased expression of COX-1 could be involved in the pathophysiology of pre-eclamptic changes within the placental bed. A therapy with drugs inhibiting COX-1 might be beneficial in this condition.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 ReproductionHome page
K. Y Lee and F. J DeMayo
Animal models of implantation
Reproduction, December 1, 2004; 128(6): 679 - 695.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
H. Ota, S. Igarashi, M. Sasaki, and T. Tanaka
Distribution of cyclooxygenase-2 in eutopic and ectopic endometrium in endometriosis and adenomyosis
Hum. Reprod., March 1, 2001; 16(3): 561 - 566.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
K. Takakuwa, K. Honda, K. Ishii, I. Hataya, M. Yasuda, and K. Tanaka
Studies on the HLA-DRB1 genotypes in Japanese women with severe pre-eclampsia positive and negative for anticardiolipin antibody using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method
Hum. Reprod., December 1, 1999; 14(12): 2980 - 2986.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Cell Sci.Home page
N. Callejas, M Casado, L Bosca, and P Martin-Sanz
Requirement of nuclear factor kappaB for the constitutive expression of nitric oxide synthase-2 and cyclooxygenase-2 in rat trophoblasts
J. Cell Sci., January 9, 1999; 112(18): 3147 - 3155.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.