EXPRESSION OF INDUCIBLE NITRIC-OXIDE SYNTHASE IN PLACENTA OF WOMEN WITH GESTATIONAL DIABETES

Gestational diabetes is one of the most prevalent medical complication s of pregnancy and causes increased fetal wastage, Investigation of pl acentas from diabetic mothers indicate chronic: disturbances in interv illous circulation, dilatation of capillaries, and a relatively immatu re villous structure, Abnormal levels of nitric oxide (NO) may contrib ute to maternal disorders such as the pathogenesis of diabetic: vascul ar complications, In the normal placenta NO is generated only by endot helial NOS, which apparently serves to regulate vascular tone in the f etoplacental circulation, In contrast, studies have reported the absen ce of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in human placentas under normal conditions, The aim of our study was to investigate whether iNO S is expressed in placentas from patients with gestational diabetes, R everse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analys is demonstrated iNOS mRNA and protein expression in placental tissue o nly from patients with gestational diabetes, Immunohistochemistry loca lized iNOS staining to endothelial cells and trophoblasts, We conclude that iNOS can be expressed in human placenta, Its expression might pl ay an important role in placental pathophysiology.