Decreased placental expression of hPGH, IGF-I and IGFBP-1 in pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction

ObjectiveThe human Placental Growth Hormone (hPGH) and the Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) system are implicated in fetal development. This study aimed to evaluate the expression of hPGH, IGF-I, IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3 genes in placentas from pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction (FGR).DesignThe study group was comprised of term placentas from 47 FGR-complicated pregnancies of no recognizable cause. Thirty-seven placentas from normal pregnancies with appropriate for gestational age birth weight were used as controls. The expression status of the genes was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR.ResultshPGH, IGF-I and IGFBP-1 exhibited significantly lower expression compared to the controls (p = 0.003, p = 0.049 and p = 0.001, respectively). Numerically, lower IGFBP-3 expression was also demonstrated in the FGR-affected group, without however reaching statistical significance (p = 0.129). Significant co-expression patterns were detected among the study genes in both the FGR and normal pregnancies.ConclusionDecreased placental expression levels of hPGH, IGF-I and IGFBP-1 were demonstrated in pregnancies with FGR. Whether these alterations are a causative factor of FGR or accompany other pathogenetic mechanisms requires further investigation.