Trophoblast adhesion to the uterine wall is the requisite first step of implantation and, subsequently, placentation. At the maternal-fetal interface, we investigated the expression of selectin adhesion systems that enable leukocyte capture from the bloodstream. On the maternal side, human uterine epithelial cells up-regulated selectin oligosaccharide-based ligands during the window of receptiv...

The mechanisms underlying the immune defense by trophoblasts against pathogens remain ill defined. We demonstrated that placental cell death was increased upon in vivo exposure to Listeria monocytogenes. The death of infected cells is an important host innate defense mechanism. Meanwhile, double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) derived from intracellular bacteria or dsDNA viruses is emerging as a potent pa...

We evaluated the role of placental protein 13 (PP13; galectin 13) in the process of trophoblast invasion and decidual necrosis. Immunohistochemical analysis for PP13, immune cells, human placental lactogen, cytokeratin, and apoptosis markers was performed on 20 elective pregnancy termination specimens between 6 and 15 weeks of gestation. Placental protein 13 was localized to syncytiotrophoblast...

Human trophoblast cells were permissively infected by human cytomegalovirus. The kinetics of viral immediate-early, early, and late gene expression was clearly delayed compared to that in fibroblasts. Productive infection was unequivocally proven by the detection of virion particles, infectious virus in trophoblast culture supernatant, and cell-to-cell spread of cytomegalovirus from infected tr...

Placental site nodule, developing from intermediate trophoblasts, is a rare benign lesion. Although it is a benign lesion, it is histopathological differential diagnosis from placental site trophoblastic tumor and epithelioid trophoblastic tumor which are aggressive lesions of the intermediate trophoblasts, and non-trophoblastic neoplasms such as squamous cell carcinoma, is important due to its...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently become essential actors in various fields of physiology and medicine, especially as easily accessible circulating biomarkers, or as modulators of cell differentiation. To this respect, terminal differentiation of trophoblasts (the characteristic cells of the placenta in Therian mammals) into syncytiotrophoblast, villous trophoblast, or extravillous trophoblast c...

Vertical transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is the primary cause of infection by this retrovirus in infants. In this study, we report for the first time that there is a correlation between endocytic uptake of HIV-1 and virus gene expression in polarized trophoblasts. To shed light on the relationship between endocytosis and the fate of HIV-1 in polarized trophoblasts, t...

The effects of exposure to a sinusoidal 50-Hz magnetic field (MF) and an incoherent (noise) MF on hormone secretion in human first trimester villous trophoblasts were investigated. Trophoblasts were isolated from more than 30 first trimester human chorionic villi of 8-10 weeks gestation. They were cultured and exposed to MFs for different durations. The concentrations of human chorionic gonadot...

Trophoblast migration within the endometrium and uterine vasculature is essential for normal placental and fetal development. We previously demonstrated that macaque trophoblasts express the chemokine receptor CCR5 and that this receptor mediates trophoblast migration toward RANTES (regulated upon activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted). In the present paper we have used primary cultur...

Abnormal development of invasive trophoblasts has been implicated in the pathogenesis of human pregnancy diseases such as pre-eclampsia. However, critical signalling pathways controlling formation and differentiation of these cells have been poorly elucidated. Here, we provide evidence that the canonical Notch pathway, operating through Notch-dependent activation of its key regulatory transcrip...