Figure 1.

The mRNA expression of genes involved in angiogenesis and the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) reflects a preeclampsia (PE) profile. The mRNA abundance of (A) FlT-1, (B) PlGF, (C) ENG, (D) VEGF A, (E) AGTR1, and (F) AGTR4 in placental tissues from normotensive controls (gray bar; n = 16) and preeclamptic (PE: orange bar; n = 13) pregnancies is shown. The cultured primary cytotrophoblasts (CTB) were exposed either to normoxia (24 h: gray bar with diagonal lines; n = 9), hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R; 6 h intervals each of normoxia and hypoxia for 24 h; light orange bar with diagonal lines; n = 9) and hypoxia (24 h; dark orange bar with diagonal lines; n = 9). The procedures regarding the processing of the placental tissues as well as the isolation of the CTB from the healthy term placentae are described in Materials and Methods. The gene expression was assessed by real-time PCR and normalized to the reference gene YWHAZ. Data are shown as the mean ± S.E.M. and represent the fold change (2^−ΔΔCq) of the mRNA expression in comparison to the control placentae and normoxia, respectively. The placental expression patterns between the control and PE were compared using the student’s t-test. For comparison of normoxia with hypoxia and H/R, ANOVA was applied. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. FlT-1: fms-like tyrosine kinase 1; PlGF: placental growth factor; ENG: endoglin; VEGF: vascular endothelial growth factor; ATR: angiotensin receptor; YWHAZ: tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5- monooxygenase activation protein zeta.