Human fetal membranes play an important role in term and preterm labor and are responsive to steroids. We examined the expression of steroid receptor coactivators in fetal membranes obtained prior to and following labor at term. Proteins were localized by immunohistochemistry, Western analysis was carried out in nuclear extracts, and mRNA levels were determined by real-time RT-PCR. SRC-1, SRC-2...

The dorsal-ventral patterning of the Drosophila embryo is controlled by a well-defined gene regulation network. We wish to understand how changes in this network produce evolutionary diversity in insect gastrulation. The present study focuses on the dorsal ectoderm in two highly divergent dipterans, the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster and the mosquito Anopheles gambiae. In D. melanogaster, the...

PURPOSE To compare the effectiveness of standard revision surgery using mitomycin C (MMC) with revision using amniotic membrane transplantation and MMC for elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) after trabeculectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS A retrospective, nonrandomized comparative study of 36 eyes of 36 patients with a failed trabeculectomy. Patients were divided into two groups, ie, a nonamnion-...

BACKGROUND The mechanism that initiates human parturition has been proposed to be 'functional progesterone withdrawal' whereby the 116 kDa B-isoform of the progesterone receptor (PR-B) switches in favour of the 94 kDa A-isoform (PR-A) in reproductive tissues. Recently, other PR isoforms, PR-S, PR-C and PR-M generated from the same gene have been identified and partially characterised. METHODS...

Lipid mediators play a crucial role in human parturition and phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) is a key regulator of the production of these compounds. We have investigated by PCR the expression of different groups of PLA(2) and COX enzymes in human fetal membranes (amnion and chorion), placenta and three chorionic cell lines (JEG-3, Jar, BeWo). Our data show that the cytosolic Group IV PLA(2) and CO...

In this investigation, we sought to resolve the apparent paradox that is posed by the fact that there is a simultaneous increase in the production of prostaglandin and cortisol in women during labor. A paradox obtains, since in most tissues, cortisol acts to inhibit prostaglandin formation. Using previously characterized model systems for the in vitro study of arachidonic acid metabolism in amn...

Purpose: The proper function of amnion is necessary for a normal pregnancy and delivery to occur. Understanding the change of amnion between term and preterm labor leads to a better method of diagnosis and prevention for preterm labor. Lysyl oxidase (LOX) catalyzes a series of reactions about the formation of cross-linking of collagen fibrils. Human amniotic tissue, containing a large amount of...

HeLa, monkey kidney, and human amnion cells in tissue cultures were compared as sites for the multiplication of strains of tubercle bacilli or original and reduced pathogenicity, and for several other species of mycobacteria capable of causing disease in humans. The arrangement of the pathogenic species inorder of their growth rates in HeLa cells was Mycobacterium fortuitum, Mycobacterium balne...