Placental SEMA3B expression is not altered in severe early onset preeclampsia

Recent evidence suggests that Semaphorin 3B (SEMA3B) is upregulated in severe preeclampsia, and a major driver of cytotrophoblast aberrations in this disease. Here we independently assess whether SEMA3B expression is altered in a large cohort of severe early onset preeclamptic placentas. We demonstrate that SEMA3B relative mRNA expression and copy number are not changed in PE placentas. We confirm this at the protein level by western blot. Interestingly, exposure of term trophoblasts or explants to hypoxia induced a significant down regulation of SEMA3B mRNA, but a trend towards increased SEMA3B protein expression. We conclude that SEMA3B mRNA and protein is not altered in severe early onset preeclamptic placentas.