Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of ALKBH5 on migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of human trophoblast cells. Methods The expression plasmid of ALKBH5 or a negative control plasmid (ALKBH5-NC) was transfected in human trophoblast HTR-8 /SVneo cells, and the expressions of ALKBH5 mRNA and protein were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Transwell assay was used to assess the changes in migration and invasion abilities of the trophoblast cells after the transfection. Western blotting was performed to detect the expressions of EMT-related proteins in the cells including vimentin, fibronectin, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, MMP9 and MMP2. Results ALKBH5 mRNA and protein expressions were significantly higher in ALKBH5 group than in the control group (P<0.05). Over-expression of ALKBH5 significantly attenuated migration and invasion abilities of HTR-8/Svneo cells (P<0.05). Compared with the control cells, the cells overexpressing ALKBH5 showed an up-regulated expression of E-cadherin and down-regulated expressions of vimentin, fibronectin, N-cadherin, MMP9 and MMP2 (P<0.05). Conclusion ALKBH5 is involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia by inhibiting EMT of trophoblast cells and hence reducing their migration and invasion abilities.

Key words: ALKBH5; preeclampsia; epithelial-mesenchymal transition; migration; invasion