TITLE:
Reduced expression of COMT in placenta correlates with term preeclampsia
AUTHORS:
Baoling Lai, Chenhong Wang, Lu Zhou, Jie Wang, Huifen Wu
KEYWORDS:
Catechol-O-Methyltransferase; Preeclampsia; Placenta
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Vol.4 No.4A,
April
30,
2013
ABSTRACT: Objective: To
investigate the expression of catechol-O- methyltransferase (COMT) in
placentas from term preeclampsia patients in a Chinese cohort and to analyze
the relationships between COMT and mean artery pressure (MAP), serum uric acid
and 24-hour urine protein. Methods: 15 term pregnant patients with preeclampsia
and 15 normal pregnant women were enrolled. Clinical characteristics and
placental tissue were collected. Placental
COMT expression was determined by quantitative real-time PCR technique and immunohistochemistry. Results: The level of
COMT mRNA in placentas from the preeclampsia group was significantly
decreased than that in the normal pregnant women (0.00179 ± 0.00051 vs. 0.00289
± 0.00066, t = 5.145, P 0.001). Adjusted by age and body
mass index (BMI), the COMT expression was negatively correlated with serum uric
acid (r = ?0.660, P r = ?0.717, P r =
?0.619, P