Angiogenesis-related factors in the placenta of pregnant women with congenital heart diseases

OBJECTIVE: To study the features of angiogenesis of the placental villous chorion in women whose gestation took place in congenital heart disease (CHD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-five placentas obtained from women with full-term pregnancy, including 20 cases of non-operated CHD and 15 as a result of physiological pregnancy and childbirth (a control group), were studied. A placental morphological examination was made according to the standard scheme using routine stains and immunohistochemical techniques involving reactions with mouse monoclonal antibodies against VEGF, CD34, and SMA. RESULTS: The placentas of women with CHD showed a set of pathological changes, including impaired chorionic villous maturation and marked dystrophic and necrobiotic changes, the latter being more common in the placental marginal zones. Placental VEGF expression in women with CHD was significantly higher than that in the controls, especially at the edge of the placental disc. On the contrary, CD34 expression in all placental sections was lower in CHD. The distribution of SMA in the myofibroblasts of chorionic villous vessels in CHD was characterized by diffuse growth of actin expression. The specific volume of the cell surface with a positive reaction to actin significantly increased in the center, especially in the peripheral zone. CONCLUSION: Thus, the analysis of the studies could establish that hemodynamic disturbance during gestation complicated by CHD was accompanied by remodeling of the villous chorion. Pathological changes in the placental barrier complicate metabolism and gas exchange in the fetoplacental complex. Microvascular remodeling is an important mechanism of placental adaptation to circulatory hypoxic conditions in the presence of CHD and a prerequisite for successful pregnancy termination and childbirth in disease.