A 36 year old white female was referred for chorionic villus sampling for advanced maternal age. Direct (cytotrophoblast) preparations of chorionic villi were 45,X, but cultured mesenchymal core cells from the same villi were 46,XX. Study of embryonic and extraembryonic tissues showed the aneuploidy to be limited to cytotrophoblasts from specific placental sites. In aggregate, the cytogenetic f...

A complete mole coexisting with dichorionic twins was diagnosed by the combined use of sonography and chorionic villus sampling at 10 weeks gestation. The pregnancy resulted in the death of one fetus at 31 weeks from presumed feto-maternal haemorrhage, while the other fetus survived in good condition. A summary of the available literature, combined with this report, reveals a total of seven pre...

BACKGROUND Effects of vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy have been associated with some adverse pregnancy outcomes. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-1α-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) is integral to the vitamin D metabolic pathway. The enzyme catalyzes localized conversion of pro-hormone 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 to active 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. Our aim was to investigate the expression of CYP27B1 at the fetal-mate...

A proper fetomaternal immune-endocrine cross-talk in pregnancy is fundamental for reproductive success. This might be unbalanced by exposure to environmental chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA). As fetoplacental contamination with BPA originates from the maternal compartment, this study investigated the role of the endometrium in BPA effects on the placenta. To this end, in vitro decidualized ...

We present a computational model of the mechanics of growth of the trophoblast bilayer in a chorionic villous, the basic structure of the placenta. The placental trophoblast is modeled as a collection of elastic neutrally buoyant membranes (mononuclear cytotrophoblasts and multinucleated syncytiotrophoblast) filled with a viscous, incompressible fluid (cytoplasm) with sources of growth located ...

Chromosomal anomalies remain the commonest cause of mental retardation and congenital malformation. Traditionally, the prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal aberration relies on cytogenetic analysis of the cells obtained from amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS). First, the amniotic fluid or chorionic villi samples need to be cultured for 14 days or more before adequate foetal cells can...

M cells located in the follicle-associated epithelium of Peyer's patches (PP) are shown to be the principal sites for the sampling of gut luminal antigens. Thus, PP have long been considered the gatekeepers of the mucosal immune system. Here, we report a distinct gateway for the uptake of gut bacteria: clusters of non-follicle-associated epithelium-associated Ulex europaeus agglutinin (UEA)-1(+...

OBJECTIVE To describe the outcome of pregnancies with trisomy 2 in cultures of first-trimester chorionic villous samples (CVS) and determine whether amniocentesis is necessary in the management of such cases. METHODS Cultures of chorionic villi were performed at 11-13 weeks in 37 474 pregnancies. In those with trisomy 2 cells, amniocentesis was performed at 16 weeks. Pregnancy outcome was obt...

To investigate possible effects of implantation on apoptosis, we examined the cleavage of DNA in human chorionic villi and decidua in intrauterine and ectopic pregnancy. Very limited but detectable cleavage of DNA was recognized in the chorionic villi and decidua in normal pregnancy. A ladder pattern, characteristic of the apoptotic breakdown of DNA, was present in the villi in tubal pregnancy....

The global gene expression profiles of the decidua and chorionic villi of early human pregnancies were analysed by using cDNA microarray technology. Decidual and villous placental tissues were obtained from first trimester abortus and mRNA was extracted for cDNA microarray analysis. The human cDNA microarray [9600 clones, including known regulatory genes and expressed sequence tags (EST)] with ...