Placental GPI-PLD is of maternal origin and its GPI substrate is absent from placentae of pregnancies associated with pre-eclampsia.

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a disorder affecting 5-10% of all pregnancies and is characterised by abnormal trophoblast invasion, maternal endothelial cell dysfunction and a systemic maternal response. A unifying factor responsible for eliciting these effects remains unknown. However, levels of the autocrine insulin mediators, inositolphosphoglycans (IPG), are elevated 3-fold in pre-eclamptic placentae compared with controls and are also elevated 3-fold in maternal urine of pre-eclamptic women, suggesting an abnormal paracrine role of the mediator in the systemic maternal response. At the placental level, IPGs are metabolic second messengers capable of eliciting some of the characteristic features of PE, such as the 10-fold increase in glycogen synthesis and 16-fold increase in the activity of the IPG-dependent enzyme glycogen synthase. IPGs are derived from their lipidic precursors, the glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPI), in membrane associated caveolae by the action of a GPI-specific phospholipase D whose activity is regulated by its membrane microenvironment. We show that the lipidic GPI precursor was detected in total placental membrane and microvillous membrane from normal placentae. The presence of GPI could not be detected in PE placentae, suggesting that the GPI/IPG signalling system is dysregulated in this disorder. Equivalent amounts of a proteolytically-cleaved 50 kDa GPI-PLD protein is detected in both normal and PE placentae. However, GPI-PLD mRNA is absent, suggesting a mechanism of uptake from maternal serum. Since GPI-PLD, whose presence is required for hydrolysis of GPI and release of free IPG, is detectable with equal activity in both normal and PE placentae, we postulate that dysregulation of the tubular caveolar structure of the microvilli in pre-eclamptic placentae provides an environment which promotes the unregulated hydrolysis of GPI in this disorder.

Differential distribution of binding sites for 125I-insulin-like growth factor II on trophoblast membranes of human term placenta.

The syncytiotrophoblast, which is delineated by two polar membranes (the microvillous and the basal plasma membranes), is the main placental structural element controlling maternal-fetal exchanges. These studies of the full-term placenta were undertaken in order to determine whether the microvillous membranes, which are bathed by the maternal intervillous circulation, and basal plasma membrane, which lines the fetal blood capillaries, have binding sites for insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-II. The microvillous and basal plasma membranes were purified and found to bind 125I-IGF-II with significantly different (p < 0.0001) Kd (0.51 and 1.02 nM, respectively). There were more available binding sites in the microvillous (4.4+/-0.3 pmol/mg protein) than in the basal (2.7+/-0.4 pmol/mg protein) plasma membranes (p < 0.0001). Both membranes contained three major (250, 135, and 130 kDa) 125I-IGF-II/binding-site protein complexes as determined by affinity cross-linking and PAGE. The 250-kDa band (type 2 IGF receptor) was the main band in the basal plasma membranes (46% total bound 125I-IGF-II). The 135-kDa band (insulin-receptor alpha subunit) was the main one in the microvillous membranes (48% total bound 125I-IGF-II). The amounts of 130-kDa band (type 1 IGF-receptor alpha subunit) in the two types of membranes were similar (30% total bound 125I-IGF-II). Only IGF-II displaced 125I-IGF-II from the 250-kDa band, while 125I-IGF-II bound to the 135-kDa band was displaced by insulin, and ligand bound to the 130-kDa band was displaced by IGF-I. Thus there are IGF receptors in both types of membranes of syncytiotrophoblast in the human full-term placenta, and the distributions of the IGF and insulin receptors are asymmetrical. This may reflect the fact that they face and interact with two independent, different media. Maternal IGF may influence the syncytiotrophoblast by binding to receptors on the microvillous membranes, while fetal IGF may also influence syncytiotrophoblast functions by activating receptors in the basal plasma membranes.

Identification and characterization of 125I-insulin-like growth factor-II binding sites on the muscular layer of stem villi vessels of human term placenta.

The primary function of the placenta is to ensure an optimal environment for fetal growth and development. In normal pregnancy, placental vascular tone regulation assures fetus well-being and normal development by maintaining adequate blood flow so as to ensure materno-fetal exchanges. In human placenta, synthesis of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-II and specific binding sites have been previously characterized in the trophoblast; in contrast, no studies have dealt with this subject in the fetoplacental vascular system, particularly in stem villi vessels. We thus investigated whether membranes of the muscular layer of stem villi vessels contained 125I-IGF-II binding sites. Two complementary approaches were used: 125I-IGF-II binding and affinity cross-linking studies. 125I-IGF-II labeled, in a saturable and noncooperative manner, a single class of high-affinity binding sites characterized by a Kd of 1.24 +/- 0.26 nM (n = 6), a maximum binding capacity (Bmax) of 3.02 +/- 0.45 pmol/mg protein, and a Hill coefficient of 1.00 +/- 0.15. Competitors for 125I-IGF-II binding to membranes were in the order of potency IGF-II > IGF-I. Insulin was not a competitor. Affinity cross-linking of membranes with 125I-IGF-II, followed by SDS-PAGE and autoradiography, revealed two labeled bands: a protein complex of 250 kDa, which corresponds to the type II IGF receptor, and another of 135 kDa, corresponding to the type I IGF receptor. Only IGF-II could displace 125I-IGF-II binding from the major 250-kDa band, while 125I-IGF-II bound to the minor 135-kDa band was displaced by either IGF-I, IGF-II, or insulin. In conclusion, high levels of specific binding sites for 125I-IGF-II are present in the muscular layer of stem villi vessels, which are considered placenta resistance vessels. The involvement of both type I and type II IGF receptors in the growth-promoting action of IGF-II remains to be determined in the fetoplacental vascular system.