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Developmental changes of gene expression in heme metabolic enzymes in rat placenta
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Medical School, Japan.
FEBS Letters
|December 16, 1998
Abstract:
Transcription levels of the non-specific delta-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS-N) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in the placenta at the terminal stage of pregnancy were comparable to those in the female adult liver and in the spleen, respectively. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that both enzymes were exclusively expressed in the trophoblast. During gestation, transcript of ALAS-N slightly increased, while HO-1 mRNA significantly decreased. Induced acute fetal hypoxia resulted in an increase in ALAS-N mRNA and in a decrease in HO-1 mRNA. These findings indicate that placental heme metabolism is influenced by the oxygen supply.