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Using lectin histochemistry on plastic-embedded material, the glycosylation patterns of equine girdle and cup cells, and associated endometrial glands, have been investigated from 37 to 67 days gestation. Results were compared with the glycosylation of the 50-day allantochorionic trophoblast of the established equine placenta that will later form the microcotyledons. The differentiated cup cells,...
Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and their receptors in the fetus are essential for growth and postnatal survival but the role of maternal IGFs is less well understood. Animal and in vitro evidence suggests that maternal IGF-I may have important effects on placental function. Recent work in humans suggests that although there is no relationship between maternal serum IGF-I and normal fetal growth,...
Activation of telomerase compensating for the loss of telomeres has been implicated in human cell immortalization and carcinogenesis. Telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay can be used to detect telomerase activity in a variety of malignant tumours, including those of the female reproductive tract which have been found to have high levels of telomerase activity. However, it is unclear...
The act of smoking introduces a complex set of chemicals that have a broad range of effects, both complementary and antagonistic, at various levels within the vascular tree. A general review of these systemic effects is followed by a summary of documented effects of smoking on the uterine vasculature and of relationships of smoking to pregnancy outcomes known to be associated with vascular pathology...
The expression pattern of MHC class I genes in trophoblast cells at the feto–maternal interface is thought to be the basis of the maintenance of pregnancy by protecting the fetus from maternal immune rejection. Transcription of classical HLA class I genes is low or undetectable in most trophoblast cells as well as in JEG-3 and BeWo trophoblast-derived choriocarcinoma cells. The aim of this study was...
Tissue remodelling within the endometrium is necessary for successful implantation and placentation. These processes require changes in the extracellular matrix (ECM) components and modifications of the uterine luminal epithelium. These changes have been studied in species with invasive forms of implantation but there have been few reports characterizing the biochemical modifications of the ECM and...
This review examines the major observations and principal controversies relating to the effects of smoking and the constituents of tobacco on ovarian, uterine and placental tissues. Maternal exposure is assessed relative to specific tobacco-related chemicals and the feto-placental impact of mutagenic products, in addition to nicotine replacement as a pharmacological intervention for smoking cessation...
Transplacental clearances of Cl − , Na + , SO 42− , mannitol, raffinose and inulin were measured in anaesthetized rats of 14–19 days gestational age. Water flow across the placenta was calculated from embryonic (74 per cent/day) and extra-embryonic fluid (94mg/day) growth. Before 16 days, more than half of the tracer contents of the conceptuses were located in the extra-embryonic...
To determine the temporal and spatial distribution of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and its family of binding proteins (IGFBPs), guinea-pig yolk sac and chorioallantoic placentae were collected at 15, 20, 25, 29, 44–45, 55 and 65–66 days of gestation. Messenger RNAs for IGF I, IGF II and IGFBP 1–6 were identified in tissue sections by in situ hybridization, using 35 S-cRNA probes. Epithelial...
The mechanisms responsible for prevention of corpus luteum regression during early pregnancy are diverse and appear to have arisen in concert with the evolutionary divergence of placental structure. That used by the sub-order Ruminantia is unique and involves the production of a Type I interferon (IFN), IFN-tau (τ). Although IFN-τ resembles other Type I IFNs (such as IFN-α, -β, and -ω) in structure...
The inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and immune interferon gamma (IFN-γ) stimulate villous cytotrophoblast apoptosis while epidermal growth factor (EGF) protects. We hypothesize that TNF-α, IFN-γ and EGF regulate apoptosis in part by modulating cellular expression levels of the anti-death genebcl-2. While Bcl-2 is reported to be strongly expressed in villous syncytiotrophoblasts,...
This report describes an ATP-diphosphohydrolase activity associated with the inner membrane of human term placental mitochondria. An enriched fraction containing 30 per cent of the total protein and 80 per cent of the total ATP-diphosphohydrolase activity was obtained from submitochondrial particles. ATP-diphosphohydrolase activity was characterized in this fraction. The enzyme had a pH optimum of...
The present study examined the expression and occurrence of different retinoid binding proteins in human first trimester and term placenta. At both stages, messenger RNA for the serum transport vehicle for retinol, retinol-binding protein (RBP), was detected only in decidual cells of the basal plate. In contrast, immunoreactive RBP (irRBP) was present in syncytiotrophoblast, core mesenchyme and lumen...
Chronic villitis is a common condition in human placentae. In some cases an infectious cause can be demonstrated, such as infection with cytomegalovirus and rubella virus. Most often it is of unknown aetiology, the so-called VUE (villitis of unknown aetiology). We describe two cases with identification of specific infectious agents, each demonstrating previously unreported findings, i.e. persistent...
We tested the hypothesis that Doppler velocimetry of the ascending uterine arteries (Ut.DV) in cases of fetal intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) can reflect the presence of hypoxic–ischaemic lesions of the placenta, and whether this prediction is affected by the maternal blood pressure status.Ut.DV was obtained within 7 days of delivery in 90 consecutive pregnancies with IUGR and in 37 uneventful...
All the components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), including the AT 1 receptor, have previously been shown to be present in the human term placenta. However, the presence of the RAS components has not been fully investigated in the human placenta throughout pregnancy. The aim of this study was to examine the localization of the angiotensin receptors AT 1 and AT 2 using...
The rapid development of the placenta necessitates a high proliferative potential and cell-division rate. This, coupled with a high capacity for invasion, could confer on the placental tissue a tumour-like character. To exclude this, tight mechanisms of control are necessary for both proliferation and invasiveness. Despite their importance, very little is known about the molecular basis of these mechanisms...
The partial hydatidiform mole is a histopathologic entity characterized by focal trophoblastic hyperplasia with villous hydrops together with identifiable fetal tissue which was first described by Szulman and Surti in 1978. Since then major advances in molecular biology have shown that more than 90 per cent of partial moles are secondary to diandric triploidy and that this condition accounts for most...
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