Expression and significance of aquaporin 1 and aquaporin 3 in placenta and fetal membranes of pregnant women with oligohydramnios

Objective To study the expression of aquaporin 1 (AQP1) and aquaporin 3 (AQP3) in fetal membranes and placenta in pregnant women with oligohydramnios and to explore their function in the balance of amniotic fluid. Methods Thirty cases of term pregnancy with oligohydramnios were selected as the experimental group and 30 healthy term pregnant women with normal amniotic fluid volume were served as control. The expressions of mRNA and protein of AQP1 and AQP3 in fetal membranes and placenta were examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction and streptavidi peroxidase immunohistochemiscal staining. Results The expression of AQP1 mRNA in the amnion of the experimental group was 0.31 relative to that of the control group. The expression of AQP1 protein in the amnion of the experimental group was 0.14±0.02, which showed significant decrease when compared with the control (0.25±0.03) (P 0.05). The amount of AQP3 mRNA expressions in amnion and chorion in the experimental group were 0.31 and 0.37 relative to those of the control group, respectively, while 7.36 in the placenta. The expression of the AQP3 protein in the amnion and chorion in the experimental group were 0.18±0.05 and 0.18±0.04, respectively, which showed significant decrease when compared with those in the control group (0. 26±0.03 vs 0.29± 0.06, P<0.05). But the expression of AQP3 protein in the placenta of experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control (0.47±0.09 vs 0.28±0.01, P<0.05). Conclusions The alterations of AQP1 and AQP3 expressions in fetal membrane and placenta in oligohydramniotic women are adaptive response to oligohydramnios. Key words: Aquaporin 1;  Aquaporin 3;  Oligohydramnios;  Placenta;  Extraembryonic membranes