Expression of stromelysin-3 in the human placenta and placental bed

Abstract

Human placentation is mediated by fetal trophoblastic cells which penetrate into the decidualized uterine endometrium. Trophoblast invasion requires the precisely regulated secretion of specific proteinases able to degrade the endometrial basement membranes and extracellular matrix. To document further the involvement of these proteinases during human placentation, we evaluated in vivo the expression of stromelysin-3, a member of the metalloproteinase family, during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy, by means of immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization and Northern blot analysis. Human extravillous trophoblasts invading the maternal decidua produced stromelysin-3 during both, the first and third trimesters of pregnancy, but to a lesser extent during the latter. In floating villi, stromelysin-3 expression was restricted to the syncytiotrophoblasts that line intervillous vascular spaces. In conclusion, stromelysin-3 is expressed by differentiated, non-proliferative villous and extravillous trophoblastic cells in early and late placental beds and villi, and its pattern of expression evolves during pregnancy. Our observations suggest that stromelysin-3 could play a role in human placentation.

Trophoblast Invasion and Placentation: Molecular Mechanisms and Regulation

“…Trophoblast invasion seems also regulated by the production of MMPs and TIMPs by the maternal decidua [45]. Invasive trophoblasts produce stromelysin-3 during both, the first and third trimesters of pregnancy, but to a lesser extent during the latter [46]. STBs from the floating villi also express stromelysin-3 [46].…”

Multiple Regulatory Elements in the Murine Stromelysin-3 Promoter

“…Furthermore, ST3 expression has been observed in atherosclerotic vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, and macrophages present in human atherosclerotic lesions, whereas no expression is detected in normal aortic specimens (10). Like other MMP family members, st3 is expressed during normal physiological processes such as wound healing (11), trophoblast implantation (12), mammary gland involution (13), cycling endometrium (14), and development (15) all of which are associated with intense tissue remodeling.…”

Characterization of Human Villous and Extravillous Trophoblasts Isolated from First Trimester Placenta

“…In contrast to tumoral invasion, this trophoblastic invasion is precisely regulated, confined spatially to the endometrium, the first third of the myometrium, and the associated spiral arterioles and confined temporally to early pregnancy (Boyd and Hamilton, 1970). Expression of integrins (Damsky et al, 1992(Damsky et al, , 1994, cell adhesion molecules (Redman, 1997;Zhou et al, 1993Zhou et al, , 1997aZhou et al, , 1997b, and metalloproteases (Bischof et al, 1995;Damsky et al, 1992;Lala and Hamilton, 1996;Maquoi et al, 1997) throughout this migration has been well documented by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. In addition, these extravillous trophoblasts express specific HLA antigens, such as HLA-G, which are directly involved in avoiding maternal rejection (Kovats et al, 1990;Le Bouteiller and Blaschitz, 1999).…”