The transmembrane protein gp130 plays a central role in cytokine action as a signal transducing receptor subunit common to all interleukin-6 type cytokines. Endometrial tissue obtained from women with a normal menstrual cycle and decidua obtained from women in the first or second trimester of pregnancy were assessed for gp130 by western blotting, immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosor...

Infection with Listeria monocytogenes during pregnancy is associated with miscarriage, preterm birth, and neonatal complications, including sepsis and meningitis. While the risk of these conditions is thought to be greatest during the third trimester of pregnancy, the determinants of fetoplacental susceptibility to infection, the contribution of gestational age, and the in vivo progression of d...

The role of progesterone (P4) in the regulation of inflammatory mediators interleukin-8 (IL-8), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and in the recruitment of leukocyte subpopulations in the endometrium has been examined, by employing a model of P4 withdrawal and maintenance in vivo. Messenger RNA and protein expression have been investigated in endometrial biopsies:...

Human decidua in the third trimester of pregnancy contains at least four different cell types (stromal cells, macrophages, T-lymphocytes and granulocytes). The contributions of these cells to the overall function of the tissue are not known, although it is anticipated that both stromal cells and macrophages will produce the prostaglandins involved in labour. In addition, the decidua produces cy...

Several studies have shown that decidual tissue produces soluble factors which can mediate a variety of immunosuppressive activities. In order to assess whether prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was present in supernatants produced by explant culture of 10 human specimens of first trimester decidua. The effect of the supernatants from the two different series (with and without indomethacin treatment) of ...

Prokineticin 1 (PROK1) is a recently described protein with a wide range of functions including tissue-specific angiogenesis, modulation of inflammatory responses, and regulation of hematopoiesis. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of PROK1 and prokineticin receptor 1 (PROKR1) in human endometrium during early pregnancy. PROK1 and PROKR1 expression is significantly elevated...

Leptin and insulin are secreted into the maternal and to a lesser extent into the fetal bloodstream where they act as placental signals and nourish the fetus, making them possible candidates for the endocrine control of the placenta. We investigated differences in leptin (LR) and insulin receptors (IR) expression in normal and disturbed first trimester human pregnancy at protein level by immuno...

Galectins (gal) are members of the mammalian β-galactoside-binding proteins and recognize Galβ1-4GlcNAc and Galβ1-4GalNac (Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (TF)) sequences of several cell surface oligosaccharides. In this study, gal-1, -2, -3 and -13 were investigated systematically in the trophoblast and decidua compartment of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) placentas and normal third trime...