Investigation of TIGIT, PVRIG, CD112 and CD155 Expression in Early and Late Onset Preeclampsia

Abstract

Preeclampsia is characterized by hypertension and proteinuria after the 20th week of pregnancy. The disease is divided into early and late onset according to the time of diagnosis. Early onset preeclampsia (EOP) develops after the 20th week of pregnancy. The late-onset form usually occurs after the 34th week of pregnancy. TIGIT and PVRIG are immune checkpoint inhibitor receptors. PVRIG binds only to the PVRL2 (nectin-2, CD112). TIGIT binds to both CD112 and CD155. In our study, the control group consisted of placentas from healthy pregnant women, the early onset preeclampsia group (EOP) consisted of patients diagnosed before the 34th week, and the late-onset preeclampsia group (LOP) consisted of placentas from patients diagnosed at or after the 34th week. TIGIT, PVRIG, CD155, and CD112 expression in placental materials was evaluated both immunohistochemically and by RT-PCR. As a result of H scoring of immunohistochemical expression, it was observed that CD112 and CD155 expression decreased and PVRIG expression increased when the EOP and LOP groups were compared with the control group. In the early onset preeclampsia group, CD112, CD155, TIGIT, and PVRIG gene expression increased twofold compared to that in the control group. In the late-onset preeclampsia group, the expression of all the genes decreased to one-third. The results of our study revealed that these genes may serve as biomarkers for early- and late-onset preeclampsia. Detailed studies are required to determine the use of these receptors in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2025.