Quantitative RT-PCR gene expression analysis of a laser microdissected placenta: an approach to study preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is still one of the leading causes of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. Despite intensive research, the cause of preeclampsia has not yet been established. However, for a variety of reasons, the numerous aspects of normal and pathological pregnancies, particularly with regard to preeclampsia, remain difficult to study and are, therefore, poorly understood. The development of a laser-based microdissection system has provided rapid morphologically and phenotypically distinct types of cells in the placenta for molecular analysis. Alterations in gene expression in the cytotrophoblast and syncytiotrophoblast or other specific placental cell types from patients who later develop preeclampsia have been reported. Laser microdissection is an attractive method to study each specific placental cell type to characterize the development of preeclampsia or to study the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. This method may contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of preeclampsia.