Journal of Blood Disorders & Transfusion

Abstract

Electron and Scanning Microscopic Observations on the Syncytiotrophoblast Microvillous Membrane Contribution to Preeclampsia in Early Placental Rats

Manar E Selim, Nouf G Elshmry and El Hamidi A Rashed

Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy-specific syndrome characterized by new-onset hypertension and proteinuria, occurring usually after 20 weeks’ gestation. The current study was carried out on 60 female Wistar rats. Group I: included virgin non-pregnant rats. Group II: included pregnant rats that were received saline solution (0.5 ml/100 g body weight) subcutaneously daily starting from day 7 to day 14 of gestation and served as control group. Group III: included pregnant rats that were treated with bestatin dissolved in saline in a dose of (40.0 μg/ml)/100 g body weight subcutaneously and daily starting from the same day of gestation and for the same duration as mentioned for group II, to make an animal model of preeclampsia. Hence several possible mechanisms of the activation in pre-eclampsia can be considered, all dependent on the syncytiotrophoblast microvillous surface membrane which is the placental surface in contact with maternal blood. Electron microscopic study revealed regions of syncytiotrophoblast in process of degenerative change were found. These regions were more abundant in pre-eclamptic specimens. Increase irregular deeply indented nuclei of the syncytiotrophoblast layer. Regions of syncytiotrophoblast revealed dilated cisterns of rough endoplasmic reticulum. The objectives of this study were to develop an approach to definitively identify and distinguish the syncytiotrophoblast ultrastructural changes to unambiguously determine the relative susceptibility to constitutive and placental oxidative stressinduced preeclampsia.