Comparison of gene expression at the feto–maternal interface between normal and recurrent pregnancy loss patients

Abstract

—Normal pregnancy requires a series of immunological, metabolic, vascular and endocrine regulating processes. However, the specific genes and proteins involved in these processes are not well defined. Aberration of these processes may lead to problems in pregnancy. One of these problems may be recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). Little information is available on the level of expression of genes that may play a role in normal pregnancy. Therefore, this study determined whether different levels of gene expression at the feto-maternal interface could be associated with factors for RPL. The expression patterns of genes isolated from subtractive hybridization analysis performed with chorionic villi from normal and abnormal pregnancies were investigated. Eight genes classified into groups, including immunosuppression-related, embryo attachment-related and angiogenesis-related, were isolated.