Induction of heme oxygenase-1 shifts the balance from proinjury to prosurvival in the placentas of pregnant rats with reduced uterine perfusion pressure

Placental hypoxia/ischemia has been implicated as a central factor in the development of preeclampsia. One particularly useful animal model to study the impact of placental ischemia is the reduced uterine perfusion pressure (RUPP) model. We have previously demonstrated that RUPP animals exhibit elevated placental oxidative stress, which plays an important role in the development of the associated maternal hypertension. Recently, we have demonstrated that cobalt protoporphyrin (CoPP)-mediated induction of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) attenuates RUPP-induced oxidative stress and consequent hypertension. However, signaling pathways that are involved in this process are virtually unknown. Here, we show that placentas from RUPP animals exhibit increased phosphorylation of JNK, STAT1, STAT3, and p52shc with a concomitant increase in caspase-3 activation and depletion of intracellular ATP. Treatment with CoPP decreased RUPP-induced phosphorylation of JNK and STAT1, while it increased phosphorylation of ERK and STAT3, leading to decreased caspase-3 activation and restoration of intracellular ATP content. Our data imply that RUPP induces oxidative stress and the consequent injurious state by increasing phosphorylation of mediators of injury (STAT1, JNK) and, to a lesser extent, survival (STAT3, p52shc) in placentas of pregnant rats. HO-1 induction shifts this balance to a prosurvival phenotype by augmenting phosphorylation of the prosurvival ERK and STAT3, while suppressing phosphorylation of JNK and STAT1. This attenuates the resulting injury, as indicated by caspase-3 activation and ATP depletion. These results demonstrate a novel therapeutic activity of HO-1 induction in placental cell survival during ischemia and support the HO-1 pathway as a promising therapeutic target for the management of preeclampsia.