Differentially expressed genes in early gestational chorionic villi after administration of mifepristone

Abstract

To investigate the effect of mifepristone on gene expression of human chorionic villi in early pregnancy, nine women were recruited into a randomised controlled trial. All subjects were healthy women who had regular menstrual cycles and sought termination of pregnancy up to 40 days gestational age. In the test group, gestational sacs were taken by vacuum aspiration of the uterus 24 h after a single dose of 150 mg mifepristone was administered. Chorionic villi were collected and frozen in liquid nitrogen. The control samples were collected using the same method from the women without administration of mifepristone. The gene expressions of villus were monitored by human cDNA microarrays. It is found that the expressions of 262 transcripts were significantly altered in the test group. Gene ontology and pathways analyses were conducted to further analyse these genes. Many of these genes are known to play potentially an important role in the placentation and the molecular regulation of maternal–fetal interface. Therefore, it is suggested that the placental development and microenvironment of the maternal–fetal interface were interfered by administration of mifepristone. These data provide insight into the molecular mechanism about medical abortion induced by mifepristone.

Keywords:

• Mifepristone
• pregnancy
• chorionic villi
• gene
• cDNA microarrays

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by key projects in the national science & technology pillar program during the eleventh five-year plan period (2006BAI03B10).

Table showing details on significantly changed genes after mifepristone administration in vivo