Effect of Post COVID-19 hypoxia on Placenta of Pregnant Women: A possible Role of Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α

Abstract

Abstract The hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF) are considered master regulators of oxygen homeostasis and are oxygen level sensitive. Currently, there is no information regarding the expression of HIF-1α in pregnant women with COVID-19 infection and its potential involvement in the placentation of this condition. The current study aims to detect the expression of HIF-1α and possible molecular link between the expression of HIF-1α and PLGF. A case-control study was conducted in a tertiary university hospital between January and September 2022. Placental tissue of post COVID-19 infected pregnant women (n = 34) and healthy control (n = 16) were collected and processed for gene expression of HIF-1α and PLGF by Quantitative real-time PCR. There was statistically significant higher median level of HIF-1α among cases compared to controls (P < 0.001). Moreover, there was a statistically significant higher median level of PLGF among cases compared to controls (P < 0.001). There was statistically significant moderate positive correlation between HIF-1α and PLGF gene (r = 0.636, P < 0.001) among studied samples, however no statistically significant correlation between the two genes among cases and controls groups separately. In conclusion, the higher levels of HIF-1α and PLGF in the placentas of post COVID-infected pregnant women compared to normal pregnant women indicate that COVID-19 hypoxia did not affect the process of placentation. This is confirmed also by the positive correlation between HIF-1α and PIGF in placental tissues among total studied samples.