Spatial distribution of active genes implicated in the regulation of insulin-like growth factor stimulatory loops in human decidual and placental tissue of first-trimester pregnancy.

We have previously shown that the insulin-like growth factor-2 (IGF-2) gene is partially coexpressed with the IGF-1 and -2 receptor genes in proliferative cytotrophoblasts of the human extraembryonic tissue. Here we show that high levels of IGF-2 gene expression are not restricted to the embryonic tissue but can also be found in the decidua compacta. The IGF-2 gene is thus expressed at high levels in the mesenchymal stroma of the decidua to establish potentially short-range communication with primarily IGF-1 receptor-positive mesenchymal stroma cells. Conversely, the glandular and surface epithelia coexpress the IGF-1 receptor and IGF-1 genes, while the IGF-2 gene is not detected above background levels. The potential control mechanisms of these cell-cell signalling pathways were investigated by the analysis of the spatial distribution of active IGF binding proteins (IGFBP) genes. The IGFBP-3 gene is coexpressed with the IGF-2 gene in proliferative cytotrophoblasts of the embryonic placenta. While active IGFBP-1 and -2 genes in our hands cannot be detected in the embryonic placenta, all three IGFBP genes are expressed in complex and overlapping patterns in the decidua compacta. The results are discussed in terms of how the various IGFBP genes may operate in different cell types to restrict IGF local stimulatory pathways.