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. 2023 Jan 15;24(2):1692.
doi: 10.3390/ijms24021692.

Caspase-3, Caspase-8 and XIAP Gene Expression in the Placenta: Exploring the Causes of Spontaneous Preterm Labour

Vera Belousova  1 , Oxana Svitich  1   2 , Elena Timokhina  1 , Irina Ignatko  1 , Irina Bogomazova  1 , Svetlana Pesegova  1 , Tatiana Silaeva  1 , Tatiana Kuzmina  1 , Oxana Skorobogatova  1
Affiliations

Caspase-3, Caspase-8 and XIAP Gene Expression in the Placenta: Exploring the Causes of Spontaneous Preterm Labour

Vera Belousova et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

A better understanding of the pathogenesis of preterm birth (PTB) will allow us to lower the PTB rate, reducing perinatal morbidity and mortality. This article presents the hypothesis that premature placenta apoptosis could be a potential cause of PTB. We evaluated gene expression involved in apoptosis: caspase-3, caspase-8, and XIAP (X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis) in the placenta during pregnancy (n = 41), at the onset of preterm labour (n = 42), after preterm (n = 44) and term (n = 32) labour. We used RNA extraction, reverse transcription, and PCR. During pregnancy the gene expression of caspase-3 and caspase-8 is low, but XIAP is higher than the caspases. At the onset of preterm labour, we observed a significantly increased expression of both caspase-8 (10.7-fold, p < 0.01) and caspase-3 (2.5-fold, p < 0.01) and XIAP (3-fold; p < 0.05) compared with expression during pregnancy. Our study showed that during pregnancy, the expression of caspase genes in the placenta is low and probably controlled by high XIAP expression. At the onset of preterm labour, the expression of caspase genes increases sharply. This may initiate the onset of preterm labour.

Keywords: apoptosis; caspase; preterm birth.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a–d) Gene expression of caspase-8, caspase-3, and XIAP in placenta during pregnancy, at the onset of PTB and after PTB and term labour.
Figure 1
Figure 1
(a–d) Gene expression of caspase-8, caspase-3, and XIAP in placenta during pregnancy, at the onset of PTB and after PTB and term labour.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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