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Placental Expression (placental + expression)
Selected AbstractsPlacental expression of the nuclear receptors for oxysterols LXR, and LXR, during mouse and human developmentTHE ANATOMICAL RECORD : ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2005Geoffroy Marceau Abstract Ontogenesis and localization expression of genes encoding for the nuclear receptors for oxysterols (lxr, and lxr,) were investigated in human and mouse placenta during gestation. Both mRNAs were detectable in the placentation throughout the gestation (from 7 days postcoitum and 6th week of gestation in mouse and human, respectively) by Northern blots or RT-PCR experiments. Lxr, showed a higher accumulation in the mouse yolk sac. In situ hybridization pointed a specific expression of lxr, in the human amniotic membranes. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Reciprocal chemokine receptor and ligand expression in the human placenta: Implications for cytotrophoblast differentiationDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 4 2004Penelope M. Drake Abstract At the onset of pregnancy, the human placenta, which forms the interface between the embryo/fetus and the mother, must rapidly develop into a life-sustaining organ. The many unusual processes entailed in placental development include the poorly understood phenomenon of maternal tolerance of the hemiallogeneic cells of the conceptus, including, most remarkably, placental trophoblasts that invade the uterine wall. To investigate whether this fetal organ exerts control over the maternal immune system at the level of leukocyte trafficking, we examined placental expression of chemokines, well-known cytokine regulators of leukocyte movements. In situ hybridization revealed abundant expression of 13 chemokines in the stromal but not the trophoblast compartment of chorionic villi. Potential roles for these molecules include recruitment of the resident macrophage (Hofbauer cell) population to the villi. In parallel, cytotrophoblast production of a panel of nine chemokine receptors was assessed by using RNase protection assays. The numerous receptors detected suggested the novel possibility that the paracrine actions of chemokine ligands derived from either the villous stroma or the decidua could mediate general aspects of placental development, with specific contributions to cytotrophoblast differentiation along the pathway that leads to uterine invasion. Developmental Dynamics 229:877,885, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Role of EG-VEGF in human placentation: Physiological and pathological implicationsJOURNAL OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE, Issue 8b 2009Pascale Hoffmann Abstract Pre-eclampsia (PE), the major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, is thought to be caused by shallow invasion of the maternal decidua by extravillous trophoblasts (EVT). Data suggest that a fine balance between the expressions of pro- and anti-invasive factors might regulate EVT invasiveness. Recently, we showed that the expression of the new growth factor endocrine gland-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (EG-VEGF) is high in early pregnancy but falls after 11 weeks, suggesting an essential role for this factor in early pregnancy. Using human villous explants and HTR-8/SVneo, a first trimester extravillous trophoblast cell line, we showed differential expression of EG-VEGF receptors, PKR1 and PKR2, in the placenta and demonstrated that EG-VEGF inhibits EVT migration, invasion and tube-like organisation. EG-VEGF inhibitory effect on invasion was supported by a decrease in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 production. Interference with PKR2 expression, using specific siRNAs, reversed the EG-VEGF-induced inhibitory effects. Furthermore, we determined EG-VEGF circulating levels in normal and PE patients. Our results showed that EG-VEGF levels were highest during the first trimester of pregnancy and decreased thereafter to non-pregnant levels. More important, EG-VEGF levels were significantly elevated in PE patients compared with age-matched controls. These findings identify EG-VEGF as a novel paracrine regulator of trophoblast invasion. We speculate that a failure to correctly down-regulate placental expression of EG-VEGF at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy might lead to PE. [source] The Effect of Betamethasone Treatment on Neuroactive Steroid Synthesis in a Foetal Guinea Pig Model of Growth RestrictionJOURNAL OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 3 2010A. A. McKendry There are ongoing concerns that antenatal corticosteroids, which are administered to women at high risk of delivering preterm to reduce the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome, have adverse effects on foetal brain development and subsequent effects on behaviour and learning, when administered as repeated courses. The present study aimed to examine whether repeated betamethasone treatment alters the expression of the key-rate limiting enzyme, 5,-reductase, in the synthetic pathway of the potent neuroactive steroid allopregnanolone in the brain and placenta and whether this effect is potentiated in growth restricted foetuses. To investigate this, pregnant guinea pigs carrying either control (sham surgery) or growth-restricted foetuses were treated with vehicle or betamethasone (1 mg/kg/day) for 4 days prior to sacrifice (65d). Placental insufficiency was induced by the ablation of uterine artery branches supplying each placenta at mid gestation, resulting in foetal growth restriction characterised by ,brain sparing'. Real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used to determine relative 5,-reductase type 1 and 2 mRNA expression in the placenta and brain. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression in the subcortical white matter, CA1 and dentate regions of the hippocampus. 5,-reductase type 2 mRNA expression in the brain was markedly reduced by betamethasone treatment in male foetuses compared to vehicle-treated controls but not in female foetuses. In addition, 5,-reductase type 1 expression in the brain was increased by growth restriction and/or betamethasone treatment in female foetuses but expression in males foetuses did not increase. 5,-reductase type 2 expression in the placenta was markedly reduced by betamethasone treatment compared to vehicle-treated control. Intrauterine growth restriction and betamethasone treatment reduced GFAP expression in the CA1 region of the hippocampus in the brains of male but not female foetuses. These data indicate that betamethasone treatment suppresses placental expression and has sexually dimorphic effects on expression of neuroactive steroid synthetic enzymes in the brain. These actions may lead to adverse effects on the developing brain, particularly in male foetuses, such as the observed effects on GFAP expression. [source] Functions of corticotropin-releasing hormone in anthropoid primates: From brain to placentaAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2006Michael L. Power Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is an ancient regulatory molecule. The CRH hormone family has at least four ligands, two receptors, and a binding protein. Its well-known role in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is only one of many. The expression of CRH and its related peptides is widespread in peripheral tissue, with important functions in the immune system, energy metabolism, and female reproduction. For example, CRH is involved in the implantation of fertilized ova and in maternal tolerance to the fetus. An apparently unique adaptation has evolved in anthropoid primates: placental expression of CRH. Placental CRH stimulates the fetal adrenal zone, an adrenal structure unique to primates, to produce dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), which is converted to estrogen by the placenta. Cortisol induced from the fetal and maternal adrenal glands by placental CRH induces further placental CRH expression, forming a positive feedback system that results in increasing placental production of estrogen. In humans, abnormally high placental expression of CRH is associated with pregnancy complications (e.g., preterm labor, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), and preeclampsia). Within anthropoid primates, there are at least two patterns of placental CRH expression over gestation: monkeys differ from great apes (and humans) by having a midgestational peak in CRH expression. The functional significance of these differences between monkeys and apes is not yet understood, but it supports the hypothesis that placental CRH performs multiple roles during gestation. A clearer understanding of the diversity of patterns of placental CRH expression among anthropoid primates would aid our understanding of its role in human pregnancy. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 18:431,447, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Adaptations in placental nutrient transfer capacity to meet fetal growth demands depend on placental size in miceTHE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 18 2008P. M. Coan Experimental reduction in placental growth often leads to increased placental efficiency measured as grams of fetus produced per gram of placenta, although little is known about the mechanisms involved. This study tested the hypothesis that the smallest placenta within a litter is the most efficient at supporting fetal growth by examining the natural intra-litter variation in placental nutrient transfer capacity in normal pregnant mice. The morphology, nutrient transfer and expression of key growth and nutrient supply genes (Igf2P0, Grb10, Slc2a1, Slc2a3, Slc38a1, Slc38a2 and Slc38a4) were compared in the lightest and heaviest placentas of a litter at days 16 and 19 of pregnancy, when mouse fetuses are growing most rapidly in absolute terms. The data show that there are morphological and functional adaptations in the lightest placenta within a litter, which increase active transport of amino acids per gram of placenta and maintain normal fetal growth close to term, despite the reduced placental mass. The specific placental adaptations differ with age. At E16, they are primarily morphological with an increase in the volume fraction of the labyrinthine zone responsible for nutrient exchange, whereas at E19 they are more functional with up-regulated placental expression of the glucose transporter gene, Slc2a1/GLUT1 and one isoform the System A family of amino acid transporters, Slc38a2/SNAT2. Thus, this adaptability in placental phenotype provides a functional reserve capacity for maximizing fetal growth during late gestation when placental growth is compromised. [source] | |||||||||||||