Bolunduț Alexandru Cristian, Mureșan Ximena Maria, Suflețel Rada Teodora, Mocan Lavinia Patricia, Pîrv Simina, Șușman Sergiu, Mihu Carmen Mihaela
1st Department of Pediatrics, "Iuliu Hațieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400370 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Department of Histology, "Iuliu Hațieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Life (Basel). 2025 May 22;15(6):837. doi: 10.3390/life15060837.
The heart and placenta have simultaneous embryologic development, the interactions between the two organs representing the heart-placental axis. They both share key developmental pathways, one of which involves the placental growth factor (PlGF) and its receptor, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR-1). The aim of this study was to evaluate the placental pathology and the expression patterns of PlGF and VEGFR-1 in pregnancies with fetuses with congenital heart defects (CHDs). We analyzed placental gross and microscopic alterations between placentas from pregnancies with CHD fetuses and pregnancies with structurally normal heart fetuses. We also performed the immunohistochemical (IHC) assessment of the placental expression of PlGF and VEGFR-1 in the two groups. We discovered significant gross placental abnormalities in pregnancies with CHD fetuses, including a shorter umbilical cord, marginal or velamentous umbilical cord insertion, and a lower fetal-to-placental weight ratio. Also, 88.2% of the placentas in the CHD group displayed microscopic pathologic aspects. We demonstrated significant placental immunostaining for PlGF and VEGFR-1 in the syncytiotrophoblast and decidual cells compared to villous endothelial cells. We identified a lower placental IHC expression of PlGF in pregnancies with CHD fetuses compared to controls but no differences in the placental immunostaining pattern for VEGFR-1 between the two groups. Our study uncovered a potential role played by the PlGF/VEGFR-1 pathway in the development of CHDs through placental-mediated mechanisms.
心脏和胎盘具有同步的胚胎发育过程，这两个器官之间的相互作用构成了心 - 胎盘轴。它们共享关键的发育途径，其中之一涉及胎盘生长因子（PlGF）及其受体血管内皮生长因子受体 -1（VEGFR -1）。本研究的目的是评估患有先天性心脏病（CHD）胎儿的妊娠中胎盘病理学以及PlGF和VEGFR -1的表达模式。我们分析了患有CHD胎儿的妊娠胎盘与心脏结构正常胎儿的妊娠胎盘之间的大体和微观变化。我们还对两组胎盘的PlGF和VEGFR -1表达进行了免疫组织化学（IHC）评估。我们发现患有CHD胎儿的妊娠中存在明显的胎盘大体异常，包括脐带较短、边缘性或帆状脐带插入以及较低的胎儿与胎盘重量比。此外，CHD组中88.2%的胎盘显示出微观病理学特征。与绒毛内皮细胞相比，我们证实在合体滋养层细胞和蜕膜细胞中PlGF和VEGFR -1有明显的胎盘免疫染色。我们发现与对照组相比，患有CHD胎儿的妊娠中胎盘PlGF的IHC表达较低，但两组之间VEGFR -1的胎盘免疫染色模式没有差异。我们的研究揭示了PlGF/VEGFR -1途径通过胎盘介导机制在CHD发生发展中所起的潜在作用。
