Study of the relationship between AGEs and oxidative stress damage to trophoblast cell mitochondria

To study the influence of AGEs on placental trophoblast mitochondria oxidative stress, and to explore the possible pathogenesis which may participate in pre-eclampsia.

Human trophoblast cells from early pregnancy were cultured by an enzyme-digestion method. When trophoblast cells reached approximately 70-80% after passages, they were incubated with pre-eclampsia serum for 24 hours. A fluorescent dye assay was applied to measure the mitochondrial membrane potential; ELISA was used to measure the activity of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. mtDNA was detected by Real-time fluorescence quantitative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). We continued to culture one group of cells with pre-eclampsia maternal serum, and other cells were pulsed with 600 mg/L AGEs. Cells were incubated for 16 hours before assaying the levels of mitochondrial oxidative stress damage.

The levels of mitochondria oxidative stress damage in the AGEs group were higher than in the pre-eclampsia group 1 and pre-eclampsia group 2. There was no statistically significant difference in mitochondrial oxidative stress damage between the pre-eclampsia group 1 and group 2.

The AGEs are involved in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia, possibly through the enhancement of mito-chondrial oxidative stress damage.