Disrupted Balance of Angiogenic and Antiangiogenic Signalings in Preeclampsia.pdfVIP

Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Pregnancy Volume 2011, Article ID 123717, 10 pages doi:10.1155/2011/123717 Review Article Disrupted Balance of Angiogenic and Antiangiogenic Signalings in Preeclampsia Mitsuko Furuya,1 Kentaro Kurasawa,2 Kiyotaka Nagahama,1 Kae Kawachi,3 Akinori Nozawa,3 Tsuneo Takahashi,2 and Ichiro Aoki1 1 Department of Pathology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan 2 Department of Obstetrics, Yokohama City University Medical Center, Yokohama 232-0024, Japan 3 Department of Pathology, Yokohama City University Medical Center, Yokohama 232-0024, Japan Correspondence should be addressed to Mitsuko Furuya, mfuruya@yokohama-cu.ac.jp Received 16 November 2010; Accepted 12 January 2011 Academic Editor: Antonio Farina Copyright © 2011 Mitsuko Furuya et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The placenta plays a central role in governing local circulatory system that mediates maternal condition and fetal growth. In early gestational phases, the placenta exerts properties of invasion and neovascularization for successful placentation. Extravillous invasive trophoblasts replace uterine endometrial vasculature and establish local blood pathway to obtain oxygen and nutrients from the mother. In later phases, the placenta promotes villous angiogenesis and vascular maturation that are finely controlled by angiogenic and antiangiogenic molecules. Among various molecules involved in placental neovascularization, vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFRs) and angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1) mediate impo