Betacellulin (BTC), purified and cloned from mouse beta cell tumor (BTC-JC10), is regarded as a new member of the epidermal growth factor family. The present study was conducted to clarify the expression of BTC and its receptors, ErbB-1 and ErbB-4, in the trophoblasts in the human placenta over the course ...

The placenta provides the essential connection between the mother and the developing fetus. Placental position were routinely mentioned in an ultrasound report starting from early second trimester to the end of third trimester when asked for pregnancy evaluation. The aim of this study was to see the prevalence of lower ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) and the risk of persistent placenta previa. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of singleton pregnancies with sonographic evidence of placenta previa at 15-20 weeks' gestation, between October 1991 and August 2000. Only pregnancies with MSAFP determination at 15-20 ...

Afrotheria, one of four mammalian superorders, comprises elephants, sea cows, hyraxes, aardvark, elephant shrews, tenrecs and golden moles. Their placentas either form an equatorial band or are discoid in shape. The interhemal region, separating fetal and maternal blood, is endotheliochorial in elephants, aardvark and possibly the sea cows, but hemochorial ...

Glutamate metabolism is known to be important for growth and development of the human fetus. The glutamate transporters EAAT1, EAAT2 and EAAT3 are key components of the glutamate-glutamine cycle and responsible for active transport of glutamate over the cell membrane. The placenta is thought to regulate glutamate transport during fetal ...

Maternal folate deficiency is associated with fetal growth restriction, however, transfer of folate across placentae of pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction has never been investigated. We studied whether maternal to fetal 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5MTF) transport in the ex vivo dually perfused isolated cotyledon, binding of [(3)H] folate (PteGlu) to the ...

Copper is an essential trace element necessary for normal growth and development. During pregnancy, copper is transported from the maternal circulation to the fetus by mechanisms which have not been clearly elucidated. Two copper transporting ATPases, Menkes (ATP7A; MNK) and Wilson (ATP7B; WND) are known to be expressed in the ...

20Alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (20alpha-HSD), which catalyzes the conversion of progesterone to its inactive form 20alpha-dihydroprogesterone, is expressed in murine placenta and has been suggested to play roles in maintaining pregnancy. To understand the role of 20alpha-HSD during pregnancy in the goat, as a first step, cloning and sequencing of 20alpha-HSD cDNA ...

Placenta accreta is a placenta implantation that results in an abnormal firm adherence to the uterine wall. The placenta is attached directly to the myometrium. Placenta increta extends in the myometrium into the uterine musculature. The most severe form of accreta is percreta. In placenta percreta, penetration of the trophoblast ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of placenta previa associated pregnancies, to find out the strength of association of identified risk factors with the major placenta previa associated pregnancies and to identify predictors for preterm outcome. METHODS: Records of women with placenta previa, who delivered at Nizwa Hospital, Al-Dakhliya region, Sultanate ...

The presence of myofibroblasts arranged parallel to the longitudinal axes of anchoring villi of the placenta has previously been described. Furthermore, it has been suggested that intraplacental blood volume, and hence fetal-maternal oxygen-nutrient exchange, may in part be regulated through the longitudinal contraction of anchoring villi. We demonstrate here that ...

Vascularity is increased in placentas from high- compared with low-altitude pregnancies. An angiogenic response to hypoxia may protect an organ from further hypoxic insult by increasing blood flow and oxygen delivery to the tissue. We hypothesized that increased placental vascularity is sufficient to adapt to high altitude. Therefore, indexes of ...

BACKGROUND: Few cases of pregnancy following endometrial ablation have been reported. Placenta accreta and poor perinatal outcome are potential risks due to underlying endometrial destruction and uterine scarring. CASE: A 41-year-old, white woman presented for initial prenatal care at 12 weeks, 3 years after endometrial ablation with resection of a ...

Meconium-associated vascular necrosis (MAVN) is a histological abnormality of human placental chorionic vessels that is associated with poor neonatal outcome. We tested the hypothesis that MAVN shows apoptosis in the walls of chorionic vessels. Archival placental specimens with MAVN (n = 5) were compared with specimens from uncomplicated pregnancies at ...

The diversity of placental structures in Eutherian mammals is such that drawing generalizations from the definitive forms is problematic. There are always areas of reduced interhaemal distance whether the placenta is epitheliochorial, synepitheliochorial, endotheliochorial or haemochorial. However, the thinning may be achieved by different means. The presence of a haemophagous ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the placental transfer of interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) occurs. METHODS: Four normal-term placentas were perfused for maternal-fetal transfer of the cytokines, 2 placentas for fetal-maternal transfer, and 4 additional placentas were used for an endogenous control. ...

Placental leucine aminopeptidase (P-LAP), a type-II transmembrane protease responsible for oxytocin degradation during pregnancy, is converted to a soluble form through proteolytic cleavage. The goal of this study was to determine the nature of the P-LAP secretase activity. The hydroxamic acid-based metalloprotease inhibitors GM6001 and ONO-4817 as well as the ...

The 19th century debates on mammalian classification in the light of the new evolutionary thinking led to controversies between Thomas Huxley and Richard Owen concerning the value of the placenta as a representative key organ. As a main point in his argument, Huxley provided a detailed description of a sectioned ...

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of ritodrine therapy on maternal and perinatal outcome in cases of symptomatic placenta previa being managed conservatively. METHODS: A prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial was made of a total of 60 women whose pregnancies ranged from 28 through 34 menstrual weeks who were randomly allocated ...

A prominent scenario for the evolution of reptilian placentation infers that placentotrophy arose by gradual modification of a simple vascular chorioallantoic placenta to a complex structure with a specialized region for nutrient transfer. The structure of the chorioallantoic placenta of Niveoscincus ocellatus, apparently described originally from a single embryonic stage, ...

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) levels in the placenta and blood in preeclampsia differed from those in normal pregnancies. Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) levels in the placenta were also measured. STUDY DESIGN: The subjects were 44 pregnant women carrying single fetuses, of whom 22 were women ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the role of ultrasound in detecting the migration of placenta previa during the third trimester at Lady Willingdon Hospital and Jinnah Hospital, Lahore during the period July 2000 to September 2002. METHODS: Eighty pregnant women with the diagnosis of placenta previa at 28 to 32 weeks of ...

Less nitric oxide (NO)-dependent vasodilation and excess formation of reactive oxygen species could explain poor placenta perfusion in preeclampsia, but the pathways involved are unknown. We tested the hypothesis that reduced NO activity and increased oxidative stress in preeclamptic placenta is related to a low bioavailability of l-arginine. Placental endothelial ...

Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is an essential co-factor for nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS) and regulates the production of NO, or endothelium-derived relaxation factor. Although NOS is highly expressed in the placenta and NO plays a critical role in the regulation of feto-placental circulation, the mechanism maintaining the level of BH4 is ...

The human class Ib major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule, HLA-G, is unique in its limited polymorphism, high expression in the placenta and generation of multiple transcripts by alternative splicing. The proteins encoded by these transcripts are believed to modulate maternal-fetal immunological relationships during pregnancy. The baboon placenta expresses Paan-AG, a ...

The aim of the study was to investigate the stimulatory effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on IL-lalpha production in different compartments of term and preterm placental tissues. Homogenates from amnion, chorion, and from fetal (subchorionic placental tissues, maternal decidua, and mid-placental tissue before and after perfusion of isolated placental cotyledons of ...

The placenta is the highly specialised organ of pregnancy that supports the normal growth and development of the fetus. Growth and function of the placenta are precisely regulated and coordinated to ensure the exchange of nutrients and waste products between the maternal and fetal circulatory systems operates at maximal efficiency. ...

The purpose of this study was to determine whether apoptosis in placenta was affected by IFNgamma, which can induce abortion, and whether the effect of IFNgamma on apoptosis resulted from an intrinsic program of apoptosis, which was regulated by Bcl-2 and Bax. DNA fragmentation analysis indicated that cleavage of DNA ...

OBJECTIVE: The source of the erythropoietin (EPO) that circulates in the fetus is unknown although it is known that EPO does not cross the placenta and that fetal kidneys, liver, and placenta express the EPO gene. This study tested to what extent in vivo EPO secretion by the fetal kidneys ...

The aim of the study was to determine whether 24 h of cold storage of samples, mode of delivery, and gestational age influenced in vitro human chorionic vascular reactivity (35 arteries and 34 veins). The following groups were compared: (i) fresh versus 24-h cold-stored (4 degrees C in Krebs-Henseleit solution) ...

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system is subjected to pregnancy-associated changes in the circulation and is suggested to be of importance for partitioning of nutrients between the mother and the foetus. Interestingly, maternal undernutrition alters the pregnancy-associated changes, with possible adverse consequences for the mother and the foetus. However, it ...

This study aimed to elucidate development of the areola in the early dromedary placenta in comparison with that of the pig and mare. Placental tissues from 25 pregnant camels were obtained from Cairo abattoir and prepared for light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy by routine methods. Vascular casts were made ...

INTRODUCTION: Vasa previa is an uncommon obstetrical complication that poses a high risk of fetal demise if not recognized before rupture of membranes. It is vital that providers recognize risk factors for vasa previa and diagnose this condition before the onset of labor so that fetal shock or demise is ...

There have been no previous reports of human placentas mimicking the cotyledonary placenta of ruminants. We report a case of cotyledonary-like placenta associated with severe intrauterine growth restriction. A woman pregnant for the first time was referred to our hospital at 27 weeks' gestation because of severe intrauterine growth restriction. ...

Gross and microscopic examination was conducted on one hundred placentas. These included twenty five normal controls and seventy five from intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) pregnancies. Weight of the placentas from IUGR pregnancies were less than those of normal placentas. The incidence of infarction, intervillous fibrin deposition were much higher in ...

OBJECTIVES: To determine the obstetrical outcome of pregnancies initially complicated by a low-lying placenta in the second trimester. METHODS: We reviewed the obstetric outcome of all women with singleton deliveries from 1 January 1997 to 31 March 1999 and compared the 703 women with low-lying placentas (placentas in the lower ...

IL-10 is anti-inflammatory cytokine that is involved in the regulation of the pregnancy process. We examined the capacity of fetal and maternal placental tissues from human term placentas, to produce IL-10, in the presence and absence of LPS. The levels of IL-10 were examined (by ELISA and immunohistochemical staining) in ...

Study of NO generation and oxidative destruction of proteins showed intensification of these processes in the placenta during normal gestation. Activity of NO synthase and the concentration of nitrites in the placenta in women with placental insufficiency and spontaneous abortions were below the normal. Full-term pregnancy against the background of ...

Our objective was to compare pregnancy outcomes associated with different types of placenta previa. This is a retrospective analysis of pregnancies complicated by placenta previa, from January 1990 to December 1997. Descriptive statistics and comparison analyses were performed. One hundred seventy-five singleton pregnancies beyond 24 weeks that were complicated by ...

Placenta and yolk sac from 8- to 17-day-old (E8-E17) mouse embryos/fetuses were investigated for the presence of in vitro clonogenic progenitors. At E8-E9, the embryonic body from the umbilicus caudalwards was also analysed. Fetal liver was analysed beginning on E10. At E8, between five and nine somite pairs (sp), placenta, ...

The structure, physiology, and endocrinology of the yolk sac placenta of different marsupial groups is compared and phylogenetically analyzed to provide information on placental characters in the marsupial stem species. We conclude that the marsupial stem species possessed a functional yolk sac placenta. Histotrophic nutrition by uterine secretion decreased during ...

BACKGROUND: Information is limited regarding the preferred method of delivery when the placenta is underlying the site of the uterine incision. CASE: Three patients with placenta previa illustrate the successful use of a technique that avoids incising the underlying placenta. An iatrogenic partial separation of the placenta is created to ...

BACKGROUND: Placenta percreta with bladder invasion is a rare but potentially lethal complication of pregnancy. CASE: A multigravida, with a history of two prior cesarean deliveries, presented with complaints of heavy vaginal bleeding near term. She had been previously diagnosed with an anterior placenta previa. A placenta percreta with bladder ...

Oncofetal fibronectin (onfFN) is an extracellular matrix (ECM) protein synthesized by tumours and fetal tissue including placenta. The appearance of onfFN and other cellular FNs in cervico-vaginal secretions and maternal blood is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. In the current study, we used dual (maternal and fetal) perfusion of human ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate fetoplacental vascular tone and response to a vasoconstrictor in placentas of preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies with and without the presence of magnesium sulfate. STUDY DESIGN: Two cotyledons from each placenta were selected from preeclamptic (n=8) and normotensive (n=7) pregnancies. In one ...

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the evolution of chorioallantoic placental characters in Rodentia. The analysis is based on pre-existing hypotheses of rodent relationships and the tracing of character evolution. Data on 64 rodent species of 49 genera are derived from the literature. New results refer to the ...

BACKGROUND: A rare type of placentation leading to cesarean delivery and hysterectomy is described. CASE: A young multigravida in the 26th week of gestation was referred to our department with a history of vaginal bleeding and suspected placenta previa. Three previous children were delivered by elective cesarean. Ultrasonographic examination suggested ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of quinidine and verapamil, known antiarrhythmic agents and P-glycoprotein (Pgp) inhibitors, on digoxin transport from the maternal to the fetal compartment in the isolated perfused human placenta. STUDY DESIGN: Isolated placental cotyledons from normal human placentae (n=20) were dually perfused with M199 medium enriched with ...

The placenta is a unique, autonomous and transient organ. It ensures maternal-fetal exchanges and is also involved in maternal tolerance of feto-paternal antigens. The human placenta is characterized by the major invasion of the trophoblast, which comes in contact with the maternal blood, and by the intensity and the specificity ...

To investigate the pathogenesis of bovine neosporosis, 14 pregnant cattle were each inoculated subcutaneously with either 10(7) or 5 x 10(8) Neospora caninum (strain NC1) tachyzoites at 140 days' gestation. Serial necropsies were then carried out over an 8-week period. In the placenta, Neospora DNA and histopathological changes were observed ...