Treatment of human placenta membranes with dithiothrietol (DTT) followed by N-ethylmaleimide results in a 60% reduction in insulin binding. Treatment with N-ethylmaleimide alone has little effect. The decrease in insulin binding that results from DTT treatment is due to a decrease in affinity for insulin, with little change in total receptor number. DTT has similar effects on receptor solubiliz...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are being used increasingly in clinical trials for a range of regenerative and inflammatory diseases. Bone marrow is the traditional source but is relatively inaccessible in large volume. MSC have now been derived from tissues other than bone marrow including placenta and adipose tissue. We have used placenta obtained after delivery as a source of MSC and have been ...

The cellular localization of GLUT3 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein was examined in human term placenta using a combination of methodologies. In situ hybridization indicated that GLUT3 mRNA was present in the trophoblast cell layer and in vascular endothelium with a heterogeneous distribution pattern. GLUT3 protein migrating at an apparent molecular mass of 49 kDa was detected by i...

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a common dietary contaminant, is a major risk factor of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Early onset of HCC in some countries in Africa and South-East Asia indicates the importance of early life exposure. Placenta is the primary route for various compounds, both nutrients and toxins, from the mother to the fetal circulation. Furthermore, placenta contains enzymes for xenobio...

the human placenta has long been the subject of scientific interest due to the important roles which it performs during pregnancy in sustaining the fetus and maintaining fetomaternal tolerance. more recently, however, researchers have begun to investigate the possibility that the placenta’s utility may extend beyond fetal development to act as a source of cells with clinically relevant properti...

Epigenetic modifications, and particularly DNA methylation, have been studied in many tissues, both healthy and diseased, and across numerous developmental stages. The placenta is the only organ that has a transient life of 9 months and undergoes rapid growth and dynamic structural and functional changes across gestation. Additionally, the placenta is unique because although developing within t...

Within the vertebrate groups, only mammals are subject to a specialized epigenetic process termed genomic imprinting in which genes are preferentially expressed from one parental allele. Imprinted expression has been reported for >100 mouse genes and, for approximately one-quarter of these genes, the imprinted expression is specific to the placenta (or extraembryonic tissues). This seemingly pl...

PURPOSE The antipsychotic drug haloperidol can be metabolised to pyridinium metabolites haloperidol pyridinium (HP+) and reduced haloperidol pyridinium (RHP+). These pyridinium metabolites were proposed to contribute to the extrapyramidal side effects of haloperidol, because they are structural analogues of N-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), a well-known neurotoxin. RHP+ can be oxidized to HP+...

The human hydroxysteroid SULT (sulphotransferase) 2B1 subfamily consists of two isoforms, SULT2B1a and SULT2B1b. These two isoenzymes are transcribed from the same gene by alternative splicing of their first exons and share 94% amino acid sequence identity. The SULT2B1 isoforms are highly selective for the sulphation of 3beta-hydroxysteroids. Immunoblot analysis of SULT2B1 expression in several...

Trophoblast stem cells develop from polar trophoectoderm and give rise to the cells that generate the placenta. Trophoblast cells are responsible for the uterinal invasion and vascular remodeling during the implantation of the embryo. However this knowledge is not yet to be confirmed for trophoblast progenitor cells (TPCs). In this study, we aimed to demonstrate that human TPCs (hTPCs) express ...