During human pregnancy, the specialized epithelial cells of the placenta (cytotrophoblasts) come into direct contact with immune cells in several locations. In the fetal compartment of the placenta, cytotrophoblast stem cells lie adjacent to macrophages (Hofbauer cells) that reside within the chorionic villus stroma. At sites of placental attachment to the mother, invasive cytotrophoblasts enco...

The fetus obtains a significant amount of cholesterol from de novo synthesis. Studies have suggested that maternal cholesterol may also contribute to the cholesterol accrued in the fetus. Thus, the present studies were completed to determine whether diet-induced maternal hypercholesterolemia would affect fetal sterol metabolism. To accomplish this, maternal plasma cholesterol concentrations wer...

Proliferin is a prolactin-related glycoprotein secreted by proliferating mouse cell lines and by mouse placenta. In an attempt to identify target sites for proliferin action, we looked for proliferin receptors in murine fetal and maternal tissues during pregnancy using proliferin purified from the conditioned medium of a constructed Chinese hamster ovary cell line carrying amplified copies of p...

Fetal physiologists have centered their attention on the endocrine system when considering the potential interaction of one fetal organ with another or one fetal organ with the placenta. Our own studies in pregnant sheep showed an impressive correlation between placental size and the size of the fetal liver (Fig. 1). This observation—which is not a characteristic of the fetal brain, for example...

Ferritin was injected into the fetal or the maternal circulation of 27-29-day-pregnant rabbits. After the occurrence of a quasi-steady state, the placentas were prepared for electron microscopy. Ferritin particles were counted in the electron micrographs in the fetal capillaries, in the maternal blood spaces, and in the two interstitial compartments of the three-layered placenta. Under the circ...

A case of diffuse chorioangiomatosis leading to fetal hydrops, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy with massive umbilical vein thrombosis and fetal death is described. Although rare, this benign mesenchymatous malformation of the placenta should be kept in mind as a possible cause of neonatal morbidity. Prenatal diagnosis could prevent fetal death.

Intrauterine tissues (placenta, amnion, chorion, decidua) express hormones and cytokines that play a decisive role in maternal-fetal physiological interactions. The excessive or deficient release of some placental hormones in association with gestational diseases may reflect an abnormal differentiation of the placenta, an impaired fetal metabolism, or an adaptive response of the feto-placental ...

Background: Fetal death (stillbirth), that occurs every 100-200 pregnancies in industrialized countries, has not significantly decreased in recent years, mostly because of scarce research activities in this field. Fetal death is often, in up to 60-80% of cases, unexplainable, even after routine diagnostic examinations. Objectives: This work aims to stress the importance of in-depth histopatholo...