Korean J Perinatol.  2007 Dec;18(4):370-377.

Differential Gene Expression in Placenta of Term Pregnant Women with and without Labor using cDNA Microarray

• Kim A
• Kim OK
• Seo MW
• Yang DE
• Ahn HY
• Park IY
• Lee GS
• Shin JC

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
cDNA microarray technology was used to comprehensively analyze the gene expression in the placenta of term women with labor compared to without labor.
METHODS
Placental tissue was obtained from patients in spontaneous labor (n=5) and those not in labor (n=5) during Cesarean section of full term pregnancy. mRNA levels were examined through cDNA microarray using Agilent GeneSpringGX 7.3 (Agilent technology, USA). SPSS 11.0 was used for statistical analysis.
RESULTS
Among total 38,467 genes, 2,374 genes were detected to be up-regulated in labor samples, while 12 genes were down-regulated. 40 genes of them were identified as significantly up-regulated in levels of expression (up-regulated > or =5.0 fold, p<0.05). According to gene ontology analysis, they are associated with variable cell biologic functions including apoptosis, signal transduction, metabolic process, immune response, and transcription, etc.
CONCLUSION
This study suggests that our results could provide interesting clues to understanding the initiation and the process of normal labor and might lead to further studies in a more targeted fashion.

Keyword

Labor; Placenta; cDNA microarray; Gene expression profiling

MeSH Terms

Apoptosis
Cesarean Section
DNA, Complementary*
Female
Gene Expression Profiling
Gene Expression*
Gene Ontology
Humans
Metabolism
Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis*
Placenta*
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women*
RNA, Messenger
Signal Transduction
DNA, Complementary
RNA, Messenger