Trophoblast calcyclin is elevated in placental tissue from patients with early pre-eclampsia.

The aetiology of pre-eclampsia is thought to originate from aberrant spiral artery remodelling and invasion evoking cellular oxidative stress. Previously, we discovered differentially expressed proteins in trophoblast cells of pre-eclamptic pregnancies. One of these proteins is calcyclin (S100A6); a Ca(2+)-binding protein associated with cellular stress response. By immunohistochemistry on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded placental tissue, calcyclin expression was compared between women with early pre-eclampsia (n=72) and non-hypertensive control patients (n=66) (χ(2), p=0.006) blindly by two observers. Significantly more intense staining was seen in trophoblast cells of pre-eclamptic pregnancies compared to control placentas suggesting that trophoblast calcyclin is elevated in early pregnancy.