Developmental toxicity studies were conducted in rats and rabbits with a human G-CSF derivative (NTG). As reported for G-CSF, increases in abortions and fetal mortality were observed in rabbits, but not in rats given NTG. Histopathological examination of the rabbit placenta revealed accumulation of neutrophils in vessels and necrosis of the tissues surrounding these vessels. To assess the mecha...

The incidence of morbidly adherent placentas has increased ten-fold in the past 50 years, currently occurring at a frequency of 1 per 1000–2500 deliveries1,2. It is contributing to a large proportion of postpartum hemorrhages (PPH) and has led to some maternal mortalities and several surgical interventions. Current management of morbidly adherent placentas – accreta, increta and especially perc...

OBJECTIVE To examine maternal morbidity in primary surgical management of placenta accreta. DESIGN Retrospective case series. SETTING Quaternary perinatal referral center in Melbourne, Australia. POPULATION Clinically suspected and histologically confirmed cases of placenta accreta, increta and percreta. METHODS Women were identified from our hospital database coded for placenta accreta...

The fetus obtains a significant amount of cholesterol from de novo synthesis. Studies have suggested that maternal cholesterol may also contribute to the cholesterol accrued in the fetus. Thus, the present studies were completed to determine whether diet-induced maternal hypercholesterolemia would affect fetal sterol metabolism. To accomplish this, maternal plasma cholesterol concentrations wer...

The transfer of maternal gamma-globulin (IgG) provides the neonate with humoral immunity during early life. In humans, maternal IgG is transported across the placenta during the third trimester of pregnancy. The expression of the MHC class I-related receptor, FcRn, in the human placenta suggests that this Fc receptor might be involved in the delivery of maternal IgG, but direct evidence to supp...

Maternal undernutrition during gestation is known to be detrimental to fetal development, leading to a propensity for metabolic disorders later in the adult lives of the offspring. Identifying possible mediators and physiological processes involved in modulating nutrient transport within the placenta is essential to prevent and/or develop treatments for the effects of aberrant nutrition, nutrie...

Listeria monocytogenes is an important cause of maternal-fetal infections and serves as a model organism to study these important but poorly understood events. L. monocytogenes can infect non-phagocytic cells by two means: direct invasion and cell-to-cell spread. The relative contribution of each method to placental infection is controversial, as is the anatomical site of invasion. Here, we rep...

During embryogenesis and development, the fetus obtains oxygen and nutrients from the mother through placental microcirculation. The placenta is a distinctive organ that develops and differentiates per se, and that organizes fetal growth and maternal condition in the entire course of gestation. Several life-threatening diseases during pregnancy, such as pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and ...

Background: Approximately 3% to 5% of obstetric patients will experience postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Even though the most common reason for postpartum hemorrhage, as the main cause of maternal death, is uterine atony; other complications such as laceration, hematoma, inversion, rupture; retained tissue or invasive placenta; and coagulopathy may result in PPH. The main cause of retained placent...