Objective: To examine endogenous heme oxygenase (HO) expression on the surface of placental trophoblasts of pregnant women who had a fetus with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), so as to explore the pathogenesis of IUGR.
Methods: Immunohistochemical method were used to detect the expression of HO-1 in idiopathic IUGR patients (IUGR group), patients with pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) complicated by IUGR (PIH+IUGR group) and normal pregnant women (control group) with specific HO antibody. Quantitative analysis was conducted to determine the quantity of HO.
Result: The staining areas of HO-1 in IUGR group (64.27+/-10.59 micrometer(2)) and PIH+IUGR group (61.54+/-10.59 micrometer(2)) were significantly lower than that of control group (96.56+/-15.23 micrometer(2), P<0.01), but there was no significant differences between the former 2 groups.
Conclusion: Abnormal reduction in endogenous HO on the surface of placental trophoblasts may be one of the important mechanisms for the onset of IUGR.