Korean J Pathol.  2001 Feb;35(1):48-52.

Immunolocalization of the Apoptotic Inhibiting Protein (bcl-2) in Early Normal Pregnancy and Abortion

• Lee J
• Kim JW
• Choi BC
• Yang KM
• Cho YY
• Hong SR

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The human placenta is an important organ in the maintenance of pregnancy, having functions in maturation and differentiation until the end of pregnancy. The bcl-2 protein is a proto-oncogene that prevents apoptosis and maintains cell survival. However, the mechanism through which bcl-2 inhibits apoptosis is unclear. The aims of this study are to localize bcl-2 at the placenta and to determine whether the expression of bcl-2 in early normal pregnancy is different from that of a missed abortion.
METHODS
Immunohistochemistry was performed for bcl-2 in formalin-fixed chorionic villi and decidual tissue collected from five early normal pregnancies and eleven missed abortions having histories of recurrent abortions during the first trimester.
RESULTS
The bcl-2 protein was observed in the syncytiotrophoblasts of chorionic villi and decidua in both the normal pregnancy and the missed abortion, and the expression of bcl-2 significantly increased in the missed abortion group (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION
The bcl-2 may be necessary to maintain pregnancy through modulating the survival of the syncytiotrophoblast and decidua without affecting cell proliferation, and the increased bcl-2 expression is presumed to be a reparative process to the increased apoptotic activity.

Keyword

Pregnancy; Missed abortion2; Placenta; Apoptosis; bcl-2

MeSH Terms

Abortion, Habitual
Abortion, Missed
Apoptosis
Cell Proliferation
Cell Survival
Chorionic Villi
Decidua
Female
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Placenta
Pregnancy Trimester, First
Pregnancy*
Proto-Oncogenes
Trophoblasts