Control of peripartal collagenolysis in the human chorion-decidua

Article Abstract:

The body's preparation process for labor and labor itself correspond with changes in the expression of genes that produce different sets of enzymes for breaking down the various types of connective tissue found in the fetal membranes. Fetal membranes were collected and analyzed from five women having cesarean section without labor, five women having cesarean section during labor, and six women having spontaneous labor and birth. Relaxin and one other type of enzyme increased at first phaseout pregnancy. This enzyme may be responsible for the slow loss of collagen that occurs in the fetal membranes at the end of pregnancy and allow the membranes to stretch with the rapidly growing fetus. During actual labor, the levels of various metalloproteinase enzymes increased. This may correspond to the separation of amnion and chorion tissues surrounding the fetus. After completion of childbirth, high levels of other metalloproteinases, tissue plasminogen activator, an inhibitor of one metalloproteinase, and relaxin were measured.

Fetal membranes, Parturition, Parturition (Animals), Collagenases

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Transferrin increases adherence of iron-deprived Neisseria gonorrhoeae to human endometrial cells

Article Abstract:

Neisseria (N.) gonorrhoeae infection of the uterus may be facilitated by iron and transferrin, an iron-transporting protein. N. gonorrhoeae is a sexually transmitted disease that can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Researchers studied the ability of N. gonorrhoeae to attach to uterine tissue in the laboratory. N. gonorrhoeae grown in the presence of iron showed greater ability to attach to uterine tissue than did N. gonorrhoeae grown in the absence of iron. N. gonorrhoeae grown without iron but with transferrin also increased the organism's attachment to uterine tissue. Saturated transferrin was associated with the growth of N. gonorrhoeae as well as its attachment. These findings may explain why PID caused by N. gonorrhoeae happens around menstruation. The blood supply contains iron which may feed N. gonorrhoeae.

Transferrin, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Iron, Iron (Metal)

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Gamma-delta-T cells in human decidua

Article Abstract:

The population of gamma-delta-T cells appears to be significantly higher in the decidua than in the blood in term pregnancies. The decidua is the endometrial lining of the pregnant uterus, most of which is shed in childbirth. Gamma-delta-T cells are a recently discovered subset of T cells, which are a type of white blood cell. Their function in the immune system is still unknown. Levels of gamma-delta-T cells were measured in decidua from first trimester placentas and in decidua attached to placenta from full-term deliveries. At term, the population of gamma-delta-T cells was 2.4 times higher in decidua than in the mother's circulating blood. This suggests that the increase in gamma-delta-T cells plays a role in preventing infection in the mother and fetus during labor when the risk is particularly high.

Measurement, T cells, Embryology, Animal embryology

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