Decidual vascularization during organogenesis after perigestational alcohol ingestion

Perigestational alcohol consumption up to early organogenesis can produce abnormal maternal vascularization via altered decidual VEGF/receptor expression. CF-1 female mice were administered with 10% ethanol in drinking water for 17 days prior to and up to day 10 of gestation. Control females received water without ethanol. Treated females had reduced frequency of implantation sites with expanded vascular lumen (P < 0.05), α-SMA-immunoreactive spiral arteries in proximal mesometrial decidua, reduced PCNA-positive endothelial cells (P < 0.01) and diminished uterine NK cell numbers (P < 0.05) in proximal decidua compared to controls. The VEGF expression (laser capture microscopy, RT-PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry) was reduced in decidual tissue after perigestational alcohol consumption (P < 0.05). The uNK-DBA+ cells of treated females had reduced VEGF immunoexpression compared to controls (P < 0.01). Very low decidual and endothelial cell KDR immunoreactivity and reduced decidual gene and protein KDR expression was found in treated females compared to controls (P < 0.001). Instead, strong FLT-1 immunoexpression was detected in decidual and uNK cells (P < 0.05) in the proximal decidua from treated females compared to controls. In conclusion, perigestational alcohol ingestion induces the reduction of lumen expansion of spiral arteries, concomitant with reduced endothelial cell proliferation and uNK cell population, and uncompleted remodeling of the artery smooth muscle. These effects were supported by low decidual VEGF and KDR gene and protein expression and increased FLT-1 expression, suggesting that VEGF and KDR reduction may contribute, in part, to mechanisms involved in deficient decidual angiogenesis after perigestational alcohol consumption in mouse.