HIF-1α immunohistochemical expression in decidual cells, villous and extravillous trophoblast in placentas from pregnancies complicated with preeclampsia.

Etiology of preeclampsia (PE) remains unknown despite it being the leading cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. PE placentas show signs of chronic oxidative stress, therefore we set to investigate the HIF-1α immunohistochemical expression in PE placentas. For the first time presented study reported on significantly higher HIF-1α immunohistochemical expression in all of the placental segments; villous trophoblast (VTB), decidual cells (DC) and extravillous trophoblast (EVTB) in the PE placentas compared to placentas from normal pregnancies. The further studies on the subject are necessary in order to understand the mechanisms behind elevated HIF-1α immunohistochemical levels in PE.