BACKGROUND Chorioamniotic membranes infection is a pathologic condition in which an abnormal secretion of proinflammatory cytokines halts fetal immune tolerance. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the functional response of human chorioamniotic membranes, as well as the individual contribution of the amnion and choriodecidua after stimulation with Escherichia coli, a pathogen associat...

The human tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP) is a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 28,000. It appears to be ubiquitous in human mesoderm tissues and has previously been shown to be identical to the collagenase inhibitor isolated from human skin fibroblasts. TIMP inhibits type I- and IV-specific collagenases and other neutral metalloendoproteinases that may be responsible for t...

Johnson, Terry C. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis), and Leroy C. McLaren. Plaque development and induction of interferon synthesis by RMC poliovirus. J. Bacteriol. 90:565-570. 1965.-Plaque development by RMC poliovirus on human amnion cell monolayers was investigated with regard to autointerference and to the effect of acid-agar overlay on plaquing efficiency. The virus was inhibited by a...

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 favor 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 characterized. Using immunohistochemic...

Studies on new arthropod models such as the beetle Tribolium castaneum are shifting our knowledge of embryonic patterning and morphogenesis beyond the Drosophila paradigm. In contrast to Drosophila, Tribolium embryos exhibit the short-germ type of development and become enveloped by extensive extra-embryonic membranes, the amnion and serosa. The genetic basis of these processes has been the foc...

Amniotic membrane (AM) has been used in burns for nearly 100 years. The purpose of this article is to give a comprehensive review of the English literature published in the last two decades (1987--2007) to present the current state of this therapy form. Three medical databases (PubMed, Medline, The Cochrane Library) and specific burn journals were electronically screened for relevant articles u...

Guided bone regeneration is a new concept of large bone defect therapy, which employs a barrier membrane to afford a protected room for osteogenesis and prevent the invasion of fibroblasts. In this study, we developed a novel barrier membrane made from lyophilized multilayered acellular human amnion membranes (AHAM). After decellularization, the AHAM preserved the structural and biomechanical i...

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF-1) increases the tissue invasive potential of the CSF-1 receptor-bearing lung carcinoma cell lines A549 and Calu-1 by increasing the number of endogenously bound urokinase-type plasminogen activators (u-PA)s on these cells. CSF-1, at concentrations which optimize invasion of A549 and Calu-1 cells into human amnion membranes (250 ng/ml), maximally augmen...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to compare wound healing by human amnion epithelial and mesenchymal cells from preterm and term placenta with the use of an in vitro lesion repair assay. STUDY DESIGN Lesions were created in confluent monolayers of amnion epithelial and mesenchymal cells from preterm and term placentas. The repair was monitored by the measurement of the lesion area and ...