Fig. 3.

Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) in placental villi. (a) Visualization of BDNF and NGF in placental villi of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and control group by immunofluorescence with BDNF (green) and NGF (red). Nuclei were counterstained with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) (blue fluorescence). The syncytiotrophoblasts layers are labeled with white arrows, and the results of protein quantification are shown by bar plots (n = 5 in each group). All scale bars are 50 μm. BDNF and NGF mRNA expression level were quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). PCOS: n = 20; control: n = 32. Data were presented as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, unpaired two-tailed Student's t tests. (b) The methylation status at the promoter region of BDNF (blue) and NGF (purple) genes in the placental villi from women with PCOS and controls using bisulfite genomic sequencing (BSP) (n = 3 in each group, significance was determined by Chi-square test).