The Infona portal uses cookies, i.e. strings of text saved by a browser on the user's device. The portal can access those files and use them to remember the user's data, such as their chosen settings (screen view, interface language, etc.), or their login data. By using the Infona portal the user accepts automatic saving and using this information for portal operation purposes. More information on the subject can be found in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. By closing this window the user confirms that they have read the information on cookie usage, and they accept the privacy policy and the way cookies are used by the portal. You can change the cookie settings in your browser.
Adequate maternal supply and placental delivery of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) is essential for normal fetal development. In humans, maternal obesity alters placental FA uptake, though the impact of diet remains uncertain. The fatty fetal liver observed in offspring of Japanese macaques fed a high fat diet (HFD) was prevented with resveratrol supplementation during pregnancy. We...
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is the main cause of preventable non-genetic mental retardation. Diagnosis of prenatal exposure to ethanol (PEE) is based on questionnaires and biomarkers in perinatal matrices. Early diagnosis of FASD is important to mitigate secondary disabilities that will arise later in life. It is important to identify biomarkers related to cellular damage caused by PEE...
Individual susceptibility due to genetic variations appears to be an important factor in lead toxicity. As lead, ubiquitous atmospheric pollutant, behaves very similarly to calcium, gene polymorphisms in proteins involved in calcium homeostasis can affect lead toxicokinetics. Vitamin D receptor (VDR), a DNA-binding transcription factor, activates genes that encode proteins involved in calcium metabolism...
N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) expression is increased in placentas of human pregnancies with intrauterine growth restriction and in hypoxic cultured primary trophoblasts. We previously showed that elevated NDRG1 decreases trophoblast apoptosis induced by hypoxia. Separately, we found that pomegranate juice (PJ) decreases cell death induced by hypoxia in trophoblasts. Here, we test the...
Placental oxidative stress has been implicated in pregnancy complications and previous work has shown that selenium can protect trophoblast mitochondria from oxidative stress. This report examines mitochondrial function and content in trophoblasts supplemented with selenium.Swan-71, JEG-3 and BeWo cells and placental tissue were incubated with sodium selenite or selenomethionine. Mitochondrial function...
Maternal T-cells reactive towards paternally inherited fetal minor histocompatibility antigens are expanded during pregnancy. Placental trophoblast cells express at least four fetal antigens, including human minor histocompatibility antigen 1 (HA-1). We investigated oxygen as a potential regulator of HA-1 and whether HA-1 expression is altered in preeclamptic placentas.Expression and regulation of...
Stillbirth remains a devastating health issue with 26,000 stillbirths occurring annually in the United States. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) umbilical cord samples are available for many stillbirths. Our aim was to validate the use of these samples in identifying genetic variations in stillbirth through microarray analysis.This is a retrospective case–control study from a single institution...
The causal relationship between maternal second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure during pregnancy and small for gestational-age (SGA) has been affirmed, but the mechanism is still unclear. Previous studies have found that the placenta remarkably affects fetal intrauterine growth and that SHS exposure during pregnancy impairs placental growth and decreases placental weight. Therefore, the placenta may mediate...
Pre-eclampsia (PE), fetal growth restriction (FGR), pre-term labour and fetal death are common complications of pregnancy often associated with abnormal maternal inflammation. Though the precise causes of these complications remain obscure, altered maternal blood flow to the placenta is an underlying hallmark, especially with respect to the pathogenesis of PE, FGR and fetal demise. Furthermore, deficient...
Virtual touch tissue quantification (VTTQ) has been developed to evaluate tissue elasticity. Our previous study using delivered placentas showed increased elasticity in fetal growth restriction (FGR). Therefore, we investigated changes in placental elasticity during pregnancy, including complicated pregnancies.Based on complications, 199 women were divided into 5 groups (normal, FGR, pregnancy induced...
Variability in placental chorionic surface vessel networks (PCSVNs) may mark developmental and functional changes in fetal health. Here we report a protocol of manually tracing PCSVNs from digital 2D images of post-delivery placentas and its validation by a shape matching method to compare the similarity between paint-injected and unmanipulated (uninjected and deflated vessels) tracings of PCSVNs...
Oxidative stress-induced trophoblast cell dysfunction is a major pathology in preeclampsia (PE). Recently, CCAAT/enhancer binding protein beta (C/EBPβ) has been investigated as a tumor suppressor that participates in tumor invasion. However, the function of C/EBPβ in trophoblast cells remains unknown. Our study was designed to detect the expression of C/EBPβ in the preeclamptic placenta and to identify...
Our recent study in preeclampsia indicates differential oxidative stress in various regions of the placenta. Oxidative stress is known to influence neurotrophin levels. We therefore hypothesize that placental regional differences in oxidative stress will also lead to differences in neurotrophin levels.The current study examines the levels of neurotrophins, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)...
The syncytiotrophoblast (STB) epithelial covering of the villous tree in the human placenta is a multi-nucleated syncytium that is sustained by continuous incorporation of differentiating cytotrophoblast (CTB) cells. STB nuclei display a variety of morphologies, but are generally more condensed in comparison to CTB nuclei. Here, we consider whether this condensation is a feature of epigenetic regulation...
This study investigates the hypothesis that placenta works differently in oocyte donation (OD) compared to spontaneous pregnancies. To verify this hypothesis we examine the first trimester maternal serum levels of free β-hCG and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A). Then we evaluated for potential differences of Down syndrome screening between OD pregnancies, in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic...
The physiologic transformation of uterine spiral arteries in the human placental bed is essential for a healthy pregnancy. Failure of this transformation due to deficient trophoblast invasion is widely believed to underlie pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, foetal growth restriction, miscarriage and preterm labour. Understanding of invasive behaviour and remodelling properties of trophoblasts...
A specialized subtype of trophoblast giant cells (TGCs) line the torturous sinusoids of the murine placental labyrinth, and can be distinguished from most other TGCs by the expression of Ctsq. We generated a transgenic mouse line expressing Cre recombinase from the Ctsq promoter. Crosses with Cre-inducible tdTomato reporter mice indicated Cre activity was restricted to the sinusoidal TGCs of the labyrinth,...
Set the date range to filter the displayed results. You can set a starting date, ending date or both. You can enter the dates manually or choose them from the calendar.