Journal
DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS
Volume 229, Issue 4, Pages 877-885Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.10477
Keywords
chemokines; placenta; cytotrophoblast; differentiation
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Funding
- NHLBI NIH HHS [HL64597] Funding Source: Medline
- NIGMS NIH HHS [R25 GM59298, R25 GM56847] Funding Source: Medline
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At the onset of pregnancy, the human placenta, which forms the interface between the embryo/fetus and the mother, must rapidly develop into a life-sustaining organ. The many unusual processes entailed in placental development include the poorly understood phenomenon of maternal tolerance of the hemiallogeneic cells of the conceptus, including, most remarkably, placental trophoblasts that invade the uterine wall. To investigate whether this fetal organ exerts control over the maternal immune system at the level of leukocyte trafficking, we examined placental expression of chemokines, well-known cytokine regulators of leukocyte movements. In situ hybridization revealed abundant expression of 13 chemokines in the stromal but not the trophoblast compartment of chorionic villi. Potential roles for these molecules include recruitment of the resident macrophage (Hofbauer cell) population to the villi. In parallel, cytotrophoblast production of a panel of nine chemokine receptors was assessed by using RNase protection assays. The numerous receptors detected suggested the novel possibility that the paracrine actions of chemokine ligands derived from either the villous stroma or the decidua could mediate general aspects of placental development, with specific contributions to cytotrophoblast differentiation along the pathway that leads to uterine invasion. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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