Abstract: Objective：To investigate the expression of catechol-O-methyl- transferase（COMT） in placenta from patients with preeclampsia and the relationship between COMT and the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Methods：15 patients with preeclampsia and 15 normal pregnant women were enrolled. Clinical characteristics and placental tissue were collected. placental COMT expression was determined by quantitative real-time PCR technique. Results：The level of COMT mRNA in Placenta from the preeclampsia group was significantly decreased than that in the normal pregnant women（P＜0.001）．Adjusted by age and body mass index（BMI），the COMT expression was negatively correlated with serum uric acid，24-hour urine protein and mean artery pressure（all P＜0.001）. Conclusions：The decreased expression of COMT in placenta from preeclamptic patients suggests that COMT may be involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.

Key words: Pre-eclampsia, Catechol O-methyltransferase, Polymerase chain reaction, Placenta