Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) converts highly active epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) generated by cytochrome P450 (CYP) epoxygenases from arachidonic acid to less active dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids. Because of the role of EETs in processes potentially relevant to the development of organisms, EETs could be suggested as potential morphogens. Unfortunately, only little is known about sEH expression during human intrauterine development (IUD). We investigated the spatio-temporal expression pattern of sEH in human embryonic/foetal intestines, liver and kidney from the 6th to the 20th week of IUD by two-step immunohistochemistry. sEH was expressed during the whole tested period of prenatal development and its level of expression remained more or less the same during the estimated period of IUD. Distribution of CYP epoxygenases and sEH in the intestinal epithelium and the nephrogenic zone of the kidney suggests an influence of EETs on cell proliferation and differentiation and, consequently, on the development of intestines and kidney. Thus, alterations in the strict spatio-temporal pattern of expression of CYP epoxygenases and/or sEH during human prenatal development by xenobiotics could have a harmful impact for developing organisms.
© 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.