Evaluation of autophagy in placenta of pregnant women with pre-eclampsia

• Grant number: 13/03872-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): May 01, 2013
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Maternal and Child Health
• Principal Investigator: Maria Terezinha Serrão Peraçoli
• Grantee: Vanessa Rocha Ribeiro Vasques
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Preeclampsia (PE) is a syndrome that affects between 5% and 7% of pregnancies and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, both maternal and fetal. It is a systemic disease characterized by multiple changes in the mother and clinically identified by hypertension and proteinuria, which arise after the 20th week of gestation. Placental hypoxia is an initial factor in PE, due to the low uteroplacental blood flow. Thus, the placenta plays an essential role in this disease, since problems in placentation process culminate in reduced blood perfusion and therefore hypoxic / ischemic placenta as well as intrauterine fetal growth restriction. Autophagy, a lysosomal degradation pathway, removes protein aggregates and damaged organelles maintaining cellular integrity. This pathway may be compromised in pregnant women with PE, since it is observed the presence of placental lesions caused by hypoxia / ischemia. This project aims to determine the occurrence of autophagy in placenta of pregnant women with PE. Forty pregnant women will be studied, being 20 normotensive and 20 with preeclampsia. Fragments of placenta including maternal and fetal sides, will be obtained immediately after delivery. Each fragment will be cut into two equal parts, one being placed in buffered formalin for immunohistochemistry analysis, and another part will be frozen in liquid nitrogen for subsequent homogenate preparation for Western blot analysis. The occurrence of autophagy will be determined by quantifying LC3, Beclin-1 and mTOR by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

I.C. WEEL; V.R. RIBEIRO; M. ROMÃO-VEIGA; E.G. FIORATTI; J.C. PERAÇOLI; M.T.S. PERAÇOLI. Down-regulation of autophagy proteins is associated with higher mTOR expression in the placenta of pregnant women with preeclampsia. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, v. 55, 2023-01-09. (13/03872-9, 13/00535-1, 12/24697-8)

WEEL, I. C.; RIBEIRO, V. R.; ROMAO-VEIGA, M.; FIORATTI, E. G.; PERACOLI, J. C.; PERACOLI, M. T. S.. Down-regulation of autophagy proteins is associated with higher mTOR expression in the placenta of pregnant women with preeclampsia. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, v. 55, n. 1, p. 7-pg., 2022-01-01. (12/24697-8, 13/00535-1, 13/03872-9)

RIBEIRO, VANESSA ROCHA; ROMAO-VEIGA, MARIANA; NUNES, PRISCILA REZECK; PERACOLI, JOSE CARLOS; SERRAO PERACOLI, MARIA TEREZINHA. Increase of autophagy marker p62 in the placenta from pregnant women with. HUMAN IMMUNOLOGY, v. 83, n. 5, p. 6-pg., 2022-05-01. (13/03872-9, 12/24697-8)