Effect of heme oxygenase-1 deficiency on placental development

H Zhao, RJ Wong, FS Kalish, NR Nayak, DK Stevenson - Placenta, 2009 - Elsevier
Heme oxygenase (HO) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the heme catabolic pathway and highly
expressed in the placenta. Deficiencies in HO-1, the inducible isoform, have been
associated with pregnancy disorders, such as recurrent miscarriages, intrauterine growth
retardation, and pre-eclampsia. The aim of this study was to identify if a deficiency in HO-1
affects placental development using a mouse model. When HO-1 heterozygote (Het, HO-
1+/−) mice were cross-bred, an extremely low birth rate in homozygote (Mut, HO-1−/−) …