Myriam Hanssens

The distribution of fibronectin in the placental bed in normotensive and hypertensive human pregnancies

Summary Endovascular trophoblast invasion into the spiral arteries of the placental bed is restricted to the decidual segments in pregnancy-associated hypertension (pre-eclampsia). Little is known about mechanisms that control trophoblast invasion. Extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin could be involved, as they are in other invasive processes. The observation of increased plasma fibronectin levels in patients that will develop pre-eclampsia (Ballegeer et al., 1989) prompted us to study the distribution of this glycoprotein in the placental bed of normotensive and hypertensive pregnant patients. Paraffin embedded sections were stained for fibronectin using the indirect peroxidase labeled antibody technique. Spiral arteries undergoing physiological changes stained virtually negative. In vessels with subintimal thickening an occasional fibronectin positive lining of endothelium and positive areas in the fibrous subintimal cushions could be found. The most intensive staining for fibronectin however was found in the arteries with acute atherosis, i.e., the vascular lesion that is thought to be associated with pre-eclampsia.

Spiral artery morphology in pregnancies complicated by chronic hypertension: The effect of antihypertensive therapy and the relation to superimposed pre-eclampsia

SPIRAL ARTERY MORPHOLOGY IN PREGNANCIES COMPLICATED BY CHRONIC HYPERTENSION: THE EFFECT OF ANTIHYPERTENSIVE THERAPY AND THE RELATION TO SUPERIMPOSED PRE-ECLAMPSIA. J. Meekins, R. Pijnenborg, M. Hanssens, I. McFadyen, A. Van Assche, Dept Ob/Gyn, Royal Liverpool Univ. Hosp. UK & Dept Ob/Gyn, K.U. Leuven, Belgium. Methods: Placental bed spiral arteries from 20 women with chronic hypertension were studied. 13 were treated with antihypertensive agents (started from 0-16 weeks) and 11 of the 20 developed superimposed pre-eclar~sia. The predominant morhoiogical features of the spiral arteries were related to antihypertensive therapy and to the development of superimposed pre-eclampsia. Results: the clinical data are shown below and are expressed as medians (ranges).