PLAC1 mRNA in maternal blood correlates with Doppler waveform in uterine arteries in normal pregnancies at the second and third trimester.

Doppler analysis of the uterine arteries is currently used for pre-eclampsia (PE) screening. PLAC1 is a trophoblast-specific gene, and it is known that in normal pregnancies, trophoblastic cells are released into the maternal circulation, where specific trophoblastic mRNA can be detected. In PE, as in women who eventually develop PE, an abnormal passage of fetal and placental cells is also present.

PLAC1 mRNA levels in maternal blood at induction of labor correlate negatively with induction-delivery interval.

Objective: This study was conducted to determine whether, in low risk women having labor induced using prostaglandin gel (dinoprostone gel), there is a relationship between the concentration of mRNA for the PLAC1 gene (a trophoblast-specific gene) in maternal blood and the time elapsed between the first gel administration and spontaneous delivery.

Study Design: Blood was collected from 49 selected women at 40.2-41.

Evidence of genetic underexpression in chorionic villi samples of euploid fetuses with increased nuchal translucency at 10-11 weeks' gestation.

Objective: To retrospectively investigate whether the genetic profile from chorionic villous sampling (CVS) found in euploid fetuses with increased NT differs from matched controls.

Study Design: We employed cDNA microarray technology to characterize and compare the gene expression profile of chorionic villous tissues (which encompass the trophoblast and inner mesenchymal core) belonging to four singleton male fetuses with increased NT at 10-11 weeks' gestation. A pool of four normal chorionic villous tissues belonging to four respective fetuses, matched for gestational age and gender, was used as controls.