Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
J Perinat Med. 2012 Feb 10;40(4):373-8. doi: 10.1515/jpm-2011-0307.
α-Tocopherol transfer protein (α-TTP) has been identified as the major intracellular transport protein for the antioxidant vitamin E (α-tocopherol). Expression of α-TTP on the reproductive system has been described both in mouse uterus and lately in the human placenta. The aim of this study was to clarify if placental expression of α-TTP can be modified by substances causing oxidative reactions. The human choriocarcinoma cell line BeWo was, therefore, treated with two known pro-oxidants. α-TTP expression was determined with immunocytochemistry and evaluated by applying a semiquantitative score. The presence of pro-oxidants in BeWo cells induced α-TTP expression. We thus hypothesize that stimulation of α-TTP expression by oxidative stress, as this was induced by pro-oxidants, could be part of an antioxidant process occurring in the placenta in the aim of enhancing the supply of α-tocopherol. This process could occur both in normal pregnancies, as well as in pregnancy disorders presented with intensified oxidative stress. In that view, this model is proposed for further oxidative stress studies on trophoblast and placenta, on the grounds of clarifying the role of α-tocopherol in pregnancy physiology and pathophysiology.
α-生育酚转移蛋白（α-TTP）已被鉴定为抗氧化维生素 E（α-生育酚）的主要细胞内转运蛋白。α-TTP 在生殖系统中的表达在小鼠子宫中已有描述，最近在人胎盘也有描述。本研究的目的是阐明引起氧化反应的物质是否可以改变胎盘 α-TTP 的表达。因此，用人绒毛膜癌细胞系 BeWo 处理两种已知的促氧化剂。用免疫细胞化学法测定 α-TTP 的表达，并通过应用半定量评分进行评估。BeWo 细胞中促氧化剂的存在诱导了 α-TTP 的表达。因此，我们假设氧化应激诱导的 α-TTP 表达的刺激，如促氧化剂诱导的那样，可能是胎盘内抗氧化过程的一部分，目的是增强α-生育酚的供应。在这种情况下，该模型被提议用于进一步研究滋养层和胎盘的氧化应激，以阐明α-生育酚在妊娠生理和病理生理学中的作用。
