Journal ArticleEur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol · September 2024
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a frequent condition during pregnancy and its occurrence is increased in obese women. There are growing concerns about both pre-existing OSA and the development of gestational OSA and their effect on maternal pregnancy outc ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleReprod Sci · April 23, 2024
Ectopic pregnancies are one of the most common causes of obstetric mortality worldwide. Interstitial ectopic pregnancies, defined as an extracavitary pregnancy within the portion of the Fallopian tube that transverses the myometrium, have reported mortalit ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleObstet Gynecol Surv · February 2024
IMPORTANCE: Luteal phase defects (LPDs), or an insufficiency of progesterone production during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, have been identified as a potential cause of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), but its exact contribution to RPL is not we ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleBiomolecules · November 7, 2023
Cell fusion in the placenta is tightly regulated. Suppressyn is a human placental endogenous retroviral protein that inhibits the profusogenic activities of another well-described endogenous retroviral protein, syncytin-1. In this study, we aimed to elucid ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJNCI Cancer Spectr · October 31, 2023
BACKGROUND: Although many human papillomavirus (HPV)-targeted therapeutic vaccines have been examined for efficacy in clinical trials, none have been translated into clinical use. These previous agents were mostly administered by intramuscular or subcutane ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleReprod Sci · September 2023
Career development awards are a successful strategy to facilitate the advancement of physician-scientists trained in obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) toward a path of investigative independence. While these funding mechanisms can be effective approaches t ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleClin Epigenetics · July 6, 2023
BACKGROUND: With the growing availability of cannabis and the popularization of additional routes of cannabis use beyond smoking, including edibles, the prevalence of cannabis use in pregnancy is rapidly increasing. However, the potential effects of prenat ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleObstet Gynecol · July 1, 2023
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of a new human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) threshold model to classify pregnancies as viable or nonviable using a longitudinal cohort of individuals with pregnancy of unknown viability. The secondary objective was to ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleObstet Gynecol Surv · July 2023
IMPORTANCE: Prenatal cannabis use is rising and is a major public health issue. Cannabis use in pregnancy and during lactation has been associated with increased maternal and offspring morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: This review aims to summarize the e ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleMol Hum Reprod · April 3, 2023
Uterine glands and, by inference, their secretions impact uterine receptivity, blastocyst implantation, stromal cell decidualization, and placental development. Changes in gland function across the menstrual cycle are primarily governed by the steroid horm ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleEpigenomics · April 2023
The rate of substance use is rising, especially among reproductive-age individuals. Emerging evidence suggests that paternal pre-conception and maternal prenatal substance use may alter offspring epigenetic regulation (changes to gene expression without mo ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleFrontiers in endocrinology · January 2023
The placenta acts as a protective barrier to pathogens and other harmful substances present in the maternal circulation throughout pregnancy. Disruption of placental development can lead to complications of pregnancy such as preeclampsia, intrauterine grow ...
Full textOpen AccessCite
Journal ArticleSci Rep · June 22, 2022
Suppressyn (SUPYN) is the first host-cell encoded mammalian protein shown to inhibit cell-cell fusion. Its expression is restricted to the placenta, where it negatively regulates syncytia formation in villi. Since its chromosomal localization overlaps with ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleFrontiers in Genetics · March 30, 2022
Understanding the process of human placentation is important to the development of strategies for treatment of pregnancy complications. Several animal and in vitro human model systems for the general study human placentation have been used. The field has e ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleEur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol · September 2024
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a frequent condition during pregnancy and its occurrence is increased in obese women. There are growing concerns about both pre-existing OSA and the development of gestational OSA and their effect on maternal pregnancy outc ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleReprod Sci · April 23, 2024
Ectopic pregnancies are one of the most common causes of obstetric mortality worldwide. Interstitial ectopic pregnancies, defined as an extracavitary pregnancy within the portion of the Fallopian tube that transverses the myometrium, have reported mortalit ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleObstet Gynecol Surv · February 2024
IMPORTANCE: Luteal phase defects (LPDs), or an insufficiency of progesterone production during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, have been identified as a potential cause of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), but its exact contribution to RPL is not we ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleBiomolecules · November 7, 2023
Cell fusion in the placenta is tightly regulated. Suppressyn is a human placental endogenous retroviral protein that inhibits the profusogenic activities of another well-described endogenous retroviral protein, syncytin-1. In this study, we aimed to elucid ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJNCI Cancer Spectr · October 31, 2023
BACKGROUND: Although many human papillomavirus (HPV)-targeted therapeutic vaccines have been examined for efficacy in clinical trials, none have been translated into clinical use. These previous agents were mostly administered by intramuscular or subcutane ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleReprod Sci · September 2023
Career development awards are a successful strategy to facilitate the advancement of physician-scientists trained in obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) toward a path of investigative independence. While these funding mechanisms can be effective approaches t ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleClin Epigenetics · July 6, 2023
BACKGROUND: With the growing availability of cannabis and the popularization of additional routes of cannabis use beyond smoking, including edibles, the prevalence of cannabis use in pregnancy is rapidly increasing. However, the potential effects of prenat ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleObstet Gynecol · July 1, 2023
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of a new human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) threshold model to classify pregnancies as viable or nonviable using a longitudinal cohort of individuals with pregnancy of unknown viability. The secondary objective was to ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleObstet Gynecol Surv · July 2023
IMPORTANCE: Prenatal cannabis use is rising and is a major public health issue. Cannabis use in pregnancy and during lactation has been associated with increased maternal and offspring morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: This review aims to summarize the e ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleMol Hum Reprod · April 3, 2023
Uterine glands and, by inference, their secretions impact uterine receptivity, blastocyst implantation, stromal cell decidualization, and placental development. Changes in gland function across the menstrual cycle are primarily governed by the steroid horm ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleEpigenomics · April 2023
The rate of substance use is rising, especially among reproductive-age individuals. Emerging evidence suggests that paternal pre-conception and maternal prenatal substance use may alter offspring epigenetic regulation (changes to gene expression without mo ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleFrontiers in endocrinology · January 2023
The placenta acts as a protective barrier to pathogens and other harmful substances present in the maternal circulation throughout pregnancy. Disruption of placental development can lead to complications of pregnancy such as preeclampsia, intrauterine grow ...
Full textOpen AccessCite
Journal ArticleSci Rep · June 22, 2022
Suppressyn (SUPYN) is the first host-cell encoded mammalian protein shown to inhibit cell-cell fusion. Its expression is restricted to the placenta, where it negatively regulates syncytia formation in villi. Since its chromosomal localization overlaps with ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleFrontiers in Genetics · March 30, 2022
Understanding the process of human placentation is important to the development of strategies for treatment of pregnancy complications. Several animal and in vitro human model systems for the general study human placentation have been used. The field has e ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleFrontiers in Virology · January 1, 2022
Throughout gestation, the placenta is vital for proper development of the fetus. Disruptions in trophoblast, the main functional cell type of the placenta, stress the pregnancy, with potential adverse outcomes for both mother and baby. While the placenta t ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleJ Infect Dis · December 8, 2021
BACKGROUND: Expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and type II transmembrane serine protease (TMPRSS2), host molecules required for viral entry, may underlie sex differences in vulnerability to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJ Infect Dis · December 8, 2021
BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 infection in term placenta is rare. However, growing evidence suggests that susceptibility of the human placenta to infection may vary by gestational age and pathogen. For several viral infections, susceptibility appears to be greate ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticlePlacenta · December 2021
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as diabetes with onset or first recognition during gestation. It is a common complication of pregnancy that has become more prevalent over the past few decades. Abnormalities in fetal growth, including increas ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleSci Transl Med · October 27, 2021
There is a persistent bias toward higher prevalence and increased severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in males. Underlying mechanisms accounting for this sex difference remain incompletely understood. Interferon responses have been implicated a ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleInt J Mol Sci · September 23, 2021
Proper placental development relies on tightly regulated trophoblast differentiation and interaction with maternal cells. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) play an integral role in modulating cell fusion events in the trophoblast cells of the developin ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticlePlacenta · September 15, 2021
Three versions of syncytiotrophoblast exist in the human placenta: an invasive type associated with the implanting conceptus, non-invasive villous type of definitive placenta, and placental bed giant cells. Syncytins are encoded by modified env genes of en ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleFrontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology · July 21, 2021
One model to study the emergence of the human trophoblast (TB) has been the exposure of pluripotent stem cells to bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) in presence of inhibitors of ACTIVIN/TGFB; A83–01 and FGF2; PD173074 (BAP), which generates a mixture of c ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleBiol Reprod · July 2, 2021
It is very difficult to gain a better understanding of the events in human pregnancy that occur during and just after implantation because such pregnancies are not yet clinically detectable. Animal models of human placentation are inadequate. In vitro mode ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleEndocrinology · April 1, 2021
Preeclampsia (PE) is a common gestational complication that involves systemic endothelial dysfunction and inflammatory responses primarily due to placental damage. Recombinant thrombomodulin (rTM), a novel anticoagulant clinically used for disseminated int ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticlebioRxiv · March 29, 2021
There is a persistent male bias in the prevalence and severity of COVID-19 disease. Underlying mechanisms accounting for this sex difference remain incompletely understood. Interferon responses have been implicated as a modulator of disease in adults, and ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleBiol Reprod · February 11, 2021
The endometrium is the inner lining of the uterus that undergoes complex regeneration and differentiation during the human menstrual cycle. The process of endometrial shedding, regeneration, and differentiation is driven by ovarian steroid hormones and pre ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleInt J Mol Sci · February 10, 2021
Multinucleate syncytialized trophoblast is found in three forms in the human placenta. In the earliest stages of pregnancy, it is seen at the invasive leading edge of the implanting embryo and has been called primitive trophoblast. In later pregnancy, it i ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleMol Hum Reprod · June 1, 2020
Human placental development during early pregnancy is poorly understood. Many conceptuses are lost at this stage. It is thought that preeclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction and other placental syndromes that manifest later in pregnancy may originate ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleObstet Gynecol · January 2020
OBJECTIVE: To describe the natural history and outcomes of a large cohort of expectantly managed angular pregnancies diagnosed in the first trimester by specific ultrasound criteria. METHODS: We conducted a prospective case series of women with prenatally ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleSci Rep · December 20, 2019
We previously identified suppressyn (SUPYN), a placental protein that negatively regulates the cell fusion essential for trophoblast syncytialization via binding to the trophoblast receptor for syncytin-1, ASCT2, and hypothesized that SUPYN may thereby reg ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleProc Natl Acad Sci U S A · November 12, 2019
The human endometrium is essential in providing the site for implantation and maintaining the growth and survival of the conceptus. An unreceptive endometrium and disrupted maternal-conceptus interactions can cause infertility due to pregnancy loss or late ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleAm J Reprod Immunol · November 2019
PROBLEM: Recent advances in lipid research have revealed that impairments in lipid mediator signaling can be involved in the pathoetiology of a variety of diseases. We previously reported aberrant expression of autotaxin, a key enzyme for lysophosphatidic ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleProc Natl Acad Sci U S A · March 5, 2019
We describe a model for early onset preeclampsia (EOPE) that uses induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated from umbilical cords of EOPE and control (CTL) pregnancies. These iPSCs were then converted to placental trophoblast (TB) representative of e ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleReprod Biol Endocrinol · February 22, 2019
BACKGROUND: Hormonal contraceptives, particularly depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), have been reported to be associated with substantially enhanced HIV acquisition; however, the biological mechanisms of this risk remain poorly understood. We aimed ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticlePLoS One · 2019
Progestin-only long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) are increasingly popular among women seeking contraception; however, recent epidemiological studies suggest that systemically administered medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) may increase HIV acqui ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Chapter · January 1, 2019
The relationship between a living organism and its environment is based on a tightly regulated balance between symbiosis and competition. The complexity of an organism is directly correlated to the sheer volume of challenges presented to its continued fert ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleFuture Oncol · December 2018
Once unimaginable, fertility management is now a nationally established part of cancer care in institutions, from academic centers to community hospitals to private practices. Over the last two decades, advances in medicine and reproductive science have ma ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleAm J Reprod Immunol · October 2018
OBJECTIVE: Tokishakuyakusan (TSS) is a traditional herbal medicine that has been used empirically to prevent recurrent pregnancy loss. Its mode of action remains unclear. With their potent capacity to produce cytokines, invariant natural killer (iNKT) cell ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleSci Rep · May 31, 2018
The intracellular bacterial pathogen, Chlamydia trachomatis, is a tryptophan auxotroph. Therefore, induction of the host tryptophan catabolizing enzyme, indoleamine-2,3-dioxgenase-1 (IDO1), by interferon gamma (IFNγ) is one of the primary protective respon ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleAm J Reprod Immunol · March 2018
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the association of Th1/Th2 polarity induced by CD1d-restricted invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells with pregnancy outcome. METHODS: Two types of iNKT cell stimulants with different cytokine induction propertie ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Chapter · January 1, 2018
The maternal-placental-fetal unit undergoes complex hormonal changes throughout pregnancy. Placental hormones dramatically adapt the endocrine physiology of the maternal host and lead to alterations in thyroid function, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticlePLoS One · 2018
Zika virus (ZIKV) drew worldwide attention when a recent epidemic was linked to fetal microcephaly. Here we used human embryonic stem cell derived trophoblasts as a model for primitive placental trophoblast to test the hypothesis that there are differences ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
ConferenceProceedings - 2017 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine, BIBM 2017 · December 15, 2017
Endometriosis is a complex gynecological disorder. The diagnostic process of endometriosis involves an invasive procedure thus delaying the diagnosis for about 10 years on average. Both DNA-methylation data and RNA-seq data has the potential to uncover mol ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleAm J Reprod Immunol · November 2017
PROBLEM: This study explored the possibility of evaluating cervical maturation using swabbed cervical cell samples at term pregnancy, and aimed to develop a novel approach to predict labor onset. METHOD OF STUDY: Women with uncomplicated pregnancies (n=117 ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleSci Rep · September 29, 2017
Placental growth factor (PlGF), abundantly produced from trophoblasts is involved in placental angiogenesis. The regulatory mechanism of its expression is poorly understood. Hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) are centrally involved in the modulation of cellu ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleMucosal Immunol · May 2017
Pregnancy loss is the commonest complication of pregnancy. The causes of pregnancy loss are poorly understood. It has been reported that stimulation of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells using α-galactosylceramide (αGC) induces pregnancy loss in mice. ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleProc Natl Acad Sci U S A · February 28, 2017
Infection of pregnant women by Asian lineage strains of Zika virus (ZIKV) has been linked to brain abnormalities in their infants, yet it is uncertain when during pregnancy the human conceptus is most vulnerable to the virus. We have examined two models to ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleFertil Steril · September 1, 2016
Characterization of the implanting human fetus as an allograft prompted a field of research in reproductive immunology that continues to fascinate and perplex scientists. Paternal- or partner-derived alloantigens are present in the maternal host at multipl ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleMol Cell Proteomics · June 2016
Human placental villi are surfaced by the syncytiotrophoblast (STB), with a layer of cytotrophoblasts (CTB) positioned just beneath the STB. STB in normal term pregnancies is exposed to maternal immune cells in the placental intervillous space. Extravillou ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleAm J Obstet Gynecol · June 2016
BACKGROUND: Cervical remodeling during parturition progresses under exquisite regulation by immunologic mediators and proteases. Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor is a secretory protein that can function as an antimicrobial peptide, an antiinflammator ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleProc Natl Acad Sci U S A · May 10, 2016
Human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) readily commit to the trophoblast lineage after exposure to bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) and two small compounds, an activin A signaling inhibitor and a FGF2 signaling inhibitor (BMP4/A83-01/PD173074; BAP treatment ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleReprod Sci · March 2016
The divergent requirement for tolerance to support conception and protective response against sexually transmitted infections defines the unique immunological dynamics in the female reproductive tract (FRT). In part, these requirements are achieved by the ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleBiol Reprod · February 2016
It has been shown that adverse obstetrical outcomes such as pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth retardation correlate with maternal infection. In this study, we investigated mechanisms involved in infection-associated abnormalities in cytotrophoblast fun ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticlePLoS One · 2016
Chlamydia trachomatis causes a predominantly asymptomatic, but generally inflammatory, genital infection that is associated with an increased risk for HIV acquisition. Endocervical epithelial cells provide the major niche for this obligate intracellular ba ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJ Obstet Gynaecol Res · September 2015
AIM: Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a member of a new class of lipid mediators and exerts varied physiological and pathological functions. The secreted protein, autotaxin (ATX), is a key enzymatic determinant of local LPA production. The primary aim of thi ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleReprod Biol Endocrinol · July 9, 2015
BACKGROUND: The syncytialization of cytotrophoblast cells to syncytiotrophoblast is central to human placental transport and hormone production. Many techniques for in vitro study of this process have been proposed and new investigators to the field may fi ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleAm J Reprod Immunol · June 2015
PROBLEM: Elafin and secretory leukocyte peptidase inhibitor (SLPI) are unique among antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). This study aimed to determine the expression levels of these AMPs at the cervix during pregnancy and to investigate their association with pr ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleProc Natl Acad Sci U S A · May 5, 2015
Human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) show epiblast-type pluripotency that is maintained with ACTIVIN/FGF2 signaling. Here, we report the acquisition of a unique stem cell phenotype by both human ES cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleMol Hum Reprod · April 2015
Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are crucial for host defense against a variety of microbial pathogens, but the underlying mechanisms of iNKT cells activation by microbes are not fully explained. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanis ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleCold Spring Harb Perspect Med · February 6, 2015
Human reproduction is remarkably inefficient; nearly 70% of human conceptions do not survive to live birth. Spontaneous fetal aneuploidy is the most common cause for spontaneous loss, particularly in the first trimester of pregnancy. Although losses owing ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleNeoReviews · December 1, 2014
Preeclampsia is specific to human pregnancy and is cured by delivery of the gestation. The disease is particularly difficult to study because its underpinnings likely occur very early in pregnancy, but its detection is delayed until the second or third tri ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleAm J Reprod Immunol · August 2014
Recent progress in lipid research has unveiled new biologic roles for lysophospholipids as mediators of intercellular signaling. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) are representative lysophospholipids. Accumulating evidence sugge ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleReproduction · May 2014
It is imperative to unveil the full range of differentiated cell types into which human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can develop. The need is twofold: it will delimit the therapeutic utility of these stem cells and is necessary to place their position ac ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Chapter · March 1, 2014
Alterations in local immune function occur during the course of a woman's menstrual cycle that result in changes in the quantity and distribution of immune cells within the female genital tract. As the uterus prepares for pregnancy and after conception occ ...
Full textCite
Chapter · January 1, 2014
The gonads are the end organs of reproduction, represented by the ovary in women and the testis in men (Fig. 1). They produce and release germ cells, central to the survival of the species. Ovaries contain all the oocytes they will ever have at birth, alth ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticlePLoS One · 2014
BACKGROUND: Signs of severe oxidative stress are evident in term placentae of infants born to mothers with preeclampsia (PE), but it is unclear whether this is a cause or consequence of the disease. Here fibroblast lines were established from umbilical cor ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJ Reprod Immunol · December 2013
In human pregnancy, CD14⁺ decidual macrophages (DMs) are the dominant professional antigen-presenting cells in the decidua, comprising 20-30% of the local leukocyte population. Although the relevance of DMs to feto-maternal immune tolerance has been descri ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleFrontiers in Immunology · September 16, 2013
Like other mucosal surfaces (e.g., the gastrointestinal tract, the respiratory tract), the human female reproductive tract acts as an initial barrier to foreign antigens. In this role, the epithelial surface and subepithelial immune cells must balance prot ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticlePlacenta · July 2013
INTRODUCTION: Preeclampsia and other placental pathologies are characterized by a lack of spiral artery remodeling associated with insufficient invasion by extravillous trophoblast cells (EVT). Because trophoblast invasion occurs in early pregnancy when ac ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleProc Natl Acad Sci U S A · March 26, 2013
Human ES cells (hESC) exposed to bone morphogenic protein 4 (BMP4) in the absence of FGF2 have become widely used for studying trophoblast development, but the soundness of this model has been challenged by others, who concluded that differentiation was pr ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleAm J Reprod Immunol · February 2013
PROBLEM: Local adaptive cervical regulatory T cells (Tregs) are the most likely direct suppressors of the immune eradication of cervical intraepithelial lesion (CIN). PD-1 expression on T cells induces Tregs. No studies have quantitatively analyzed the Tre ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleSci Rep · 2013
While common in viral infections and neoplasia, spontaneous cell-cell fusion, or syncytialization, is quite restricted in healthy tissues. Such fusion is essential to human placental development, where interactions between trophoblast-specific human endoge ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleObstet Gynecol · August 2012
BACKGROUND: Heterotopic pregnancy describes the relatively rare coexistence of one or more intrauterine gestations and one or more extrauterine (ectopic) gestations. We describe a unique clinical case involving successful treatment of an ovarian heterotopi ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleFEMS Immunol Med Microbiol · June 2012
Chlamydia trachomatis serovars D-K are obligate intracellular bacteria that have tropism for the columnar epithelial cells of the genital tract. Chlamydia trachomatis infection has been reported to induce modifications in immune cell ligand expression on e ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleCurr HIV Res · April 2012
Among the now pandemic sexually transmitted infections (STIs), Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) is the predominant bacterial pathogen and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is the most lethal of the viral pathogens. The female genital tract ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Chapter · January 1, 2012
The pregnant uterus provides an immunologically "privileged" environment in which a genetically mismatched fetus typically thrives without deleterious allogeneic immune response. The mechanisms by which the fetus is protected from maternal immune attack ar ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleDis Model Mech · January 2012
Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disorder characterized by hypertension and excess protein excretion in the urine. It is an important cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality worldwide. The disease is almost exclusive to humans and delivery ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleAm J Reprod Immunol · January 2012
PROBLEM β(2) glycoprotein1 (β(2) GP1)-dependent antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) increase the risk for recurrent pregnancy loss. We address whether anti-β(2) GP1 antibodies can interact with phosphatidylserine (PS)-bearing CD1d on trophoblast cells and i ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJ Reprod Immunol · December 2011
The endocervix in the female reproductive tract (FRT) is susceptible to sexually transmitted pathogens such as Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Endocervical epithelial cells in vivo make innate immune mediators that likely aid in the protec ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleAm J Reprod Immunol · November 2011
PROBLEM: Mucosal T cells are the most likely direct effectors in host anti-human papillomavirus adaptive immunity and regression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions. There are no studies addressing intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) in CIN ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleInfect Immun · November 2011
Gamma interferon (IFN-γ) induces expression of the tryptophan-catabolizing enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO1) in human epithelial cells, the permissive cells for the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. IDO1 depletes tryptophan by ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleSemin Reprod Med · November 2011
Endocrine disorders have been frequently linked to recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). Because embryo attachment and early implantation are exquisitely controlled by the local hormonal milieu, endocrine-related pregnancy failures are likely to occur early in g ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleExpert Review of Obstetrics and Gynecology · July 1, 2011
Constituents of the mononuclear phagocyte system, including macrophages (Ms), display a remarkable potential to acquire variable phenotypes that rely on cell-to-cell contact and exposure to soluble factors in the tissue microenvironment. Ms are a major sub ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleImmunol Cell Biol · March 2011
Although T cells are the most common decidual lymphocyte subset in late pregnancy, little is known about the mechanisms controlling their function. Costimulatory signaling, mediated by inducible costimulator (ICOS)-B7H2 interactions, is a known potent regu ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleInfect Dis Obstet Gynecol · 2011
Genital infections with Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) continue to be a worldwide epidemic. Immune response to chlamydia is important to both clearance of the disease and disease pathogenesis. Interindividual responses and current chlamydial contro ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleInfect Dis Obstet Gynecol · 2011
Genital C. trachomatis infections typically last for many months in women. This has been attributed to several strategies by which C. trachomatis evades immune detection, including well-described methods by which C. trachomatis decreases the cell surface e ...
Full textOpen AccessLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJ Virol · November 2010
CD1d and CD1d-restricted natural killer T (NKT) cells serve as a natural bridge between innate and adaptive immune responses to microbes. CD1d downregulation is utilized by a variety of microbes to evade immune detection. We demonstrate here that CD1d is d ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleAm J Reprod Immunol · June 2010
Macrophages represent one of the major leukocyte subsets in the uterine decidua. Owing to their remarkable phenotypic plasticity, decidual macrophages can participate in diverse activities during pregnancy. At baseline, decidual macrophages are characteriz ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleReprod Sci · March 2010
Macrophages are versatile cells that play a central role in innate and adaptive immunity and participate in a wide variety of biological processes. In the uterine decidua, macrophages represent a major leukocyte subset throughout pregnancy. Here, decidual ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleCurr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes · December 2009
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: First trimester pregnancy loss affects up to 15% of clinically recognized pregnancies. Whereas most couples will proceed to have successful subsequent pregnancies, 2-4% will suffer recurrent losses, often with no identifiable cause. In f ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleReprod Sci · November 2009
Up to 8% of the human genome is of retroviral origin. These stably integrated retroviral sequences that characterize the human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) arose from retroviral infections that occurred more than 25 million years ago. The host and the retr ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleHuman Reproduction · January 1, 2009
BACKGROUND: Although previous reports suggest an antigen-presenting function for decidual stromal cells (DSCs), the relevance of cell-to-cell communication between DSCs and T cells at the human feto-maternal interface has not been fully elucidated. Therefo ...
Full textCite
Journal ArticleImmunol Cell Biol · October 2008
Low-dose prolactin induces proinflammatory responses and antibody production, whereas high-dose prolactin suppresses these responses. Mechanisms for these opposing effects remain incompletely defined. We have previously demonstrated that T-bet, a key trans ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleInfect Immun · July 2008
Mucosal epithelia of the human lower reproductive tract (vagina, cervix, and penile urethra) are exposed to sexually transmitted microbes, including Chlamydia trachomatis. The in vivo susceptibility of each tissue type to infection with C. trachomatis is q ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleBiochem Biophys Res Commun · June 27, 2008
CD1d is a specific ligand for the invariant Valpha24Vbeta11-natural killer T (iNKT) cells that play an important role in placental development during early human pregnancy. The localization and regulation of placental CD1d expression remain unclear. Immuno ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleReprod Sci · January 2008
Endometrial cytokine expression is poorly understood. T-Bet and GATA-3 regulate cytokine expression in T-lymphocytes. Previous work has demonstrated expression of T-Bet in human endometrium. Changes in human endometrial T-Bet and GATA-3 mRNA and protein ex ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleClin Dev Immunol · 2008
Human pregnancy poses a fundamental immunological problem because the placenta and fetus are genetically different from the host mother. Classical transplantation theory has not provided a plausible solution to this problem. Study of naturally occurring al ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleHum Reprod · June 2007
Adenomyosis is a non-neoplastic condition characterized by the presence of ectopic endometrium in the myometrium with hyperplasia of adjacent smooth muscle. Common symptoms in women include debilitating pelvic pain and abnormal uterine bleeding, and the co ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJ Biol Chem · March 9, 2007
Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogen that can persist in the urogenital tract. Mechanisms by which C. trachomatis evades clearance by host innate immune responses are poorly described. CD1d is MHC-like, is expressed by epithelial cel ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleAltern Ther Health Med · 2007
OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of the use of acupuncture as an adjunct therapy for in vitro fertilization (IVF), including an evidence-based evaluation of its efficacy and safety and an examination of possible mechanisms of action. DESIGN: Literature re ...
Link to itemCite
Journal ArticleAm J Reprod Immunol · 2006
PROBLEM: Previous studies have demonstrated a requirement for RANTES (regulated on activated normal T-cell expressed, and secreted) at immune privileged sites; we have investigated the role of RANTES in the induction of maternal-fetal tolerance. METHOD OF ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleMol Endocrinol · August 2005
The transcription factor T-bet promotes the differentiation of inflammatory Th1 T helper cells. T-bet expression in lymphoid cells is regulated by cytoplasmic signaling through Janus kinase phosphorylation, nuclear signaling using signal transducers and ac ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleFertil Steril · June 2005
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) secretion of T-helper (Th)-1 type cytokines and Th-2 and Th-3 type cytokines in women undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) is associated with therapeutic failure ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleAm J Reprod Immunol · April 2004
PROBLEMS: Viruses and fetuses face similar immunologic challenges. Each must evade immune detection and destruction. The virus must avoid host recognition of intracellular infection; the fetus allogenic recognition. Each has manipulated the process of anti ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleClin Diagn Lab Immunol · March 2004
Measurements of cervical immunity are important for evaluating immune responses to infections of the cervix and to vaccines for preventing those infections. Three ophthalmic sponges, Weck-Cel, Ultracell, and Merocel, were loaded in vitro with interleukin-1 ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleMol Hum Reprod · September 2003
Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) has many known aetiologies. However, using current diagnostic testing, a large fraction of recurrent pregnancy losses remain unexplained. Many of these may have immune underpinnings. HLA-G is a non-classical MHC class I produ ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleMol Endocrinol · April 2003
Human infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss caused by implantation defects are poorly understood. Hoxa-10-deficient female mice have severe infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss due to defective uterine implantation. Gene expression profiling experim ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJ Virol · June 2001
The human cytomegalovirus-encoded US2 glycoprotein targets endoplasmic reticulum-resident major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I heavy chains for rapid degradation by the proteasome. We demonstrate that the endoplasmic reticulum-lumenal domain of U ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJ Reprod Immunol · 2001
Despite immense effort, the development of vaccines effective at mucosal sites has proceeded at a faltering pace. Efforts concentrating on humoral immunity but neglecting cellular immunity may be misdirected by ignoring many viral mucosal pathogens. Improv ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleInfertility and Reproductive Medicine Clinics of North America · January 1, 2001
Normal human placentation depends on a process that is very similar to tumor invasion. Specialized placental cells, termed trophoblasts, breach the uterine epithelium, after which they invade the uterine wall and the associated portions of maternal blood v ...
Cite
Journal ArticleJ Exp Med · November 20, 2000
Murine intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (iIELs) are made up of a heterogeneous mix of T cells with unique phenotypes. Whereas CD8(+) T cells in peripheral lymphoid organs use CD8alpha/beta and are selected on MHC class Ia molecules, a majority of iIE ...
Full textLink to itemCite
ConferenceHum Immunol · November 2000
Placental expression of HLA-C, HLA-E, and HLA-G locus products is now well described. However, to date, the functional relevance of these MHC class I products at the maternal-fetal interface is incompletely described. We propose here that HLA-C, -E, and -G ...
Full textLink to itemCite
ConferenceHum Immunol · November 2000
Non-classical MHC class I HLA-E, -F, and -G molecules differ from classical class I histocompatibility antigens by specific patterns of transcription, protein expression, and immunological functions. Restriction of the expression pattern of these non-class ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Book · 2000
This review describes the diverse array of pathways and molecular targets that are used by viruses to elude immune detection and destruction. These include targeting of pathways for major histocompatibility complex-restricted antigen presentation, apoptosi ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleSemin Cancer Biol · February 1999
Immunoevasive viruses which effect antigen presentation by class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules have helped to broaden our understanding of the intracellular transport and processing of HLA-G and HLA-C in the placenta. Cellular infectio ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJ Exp Med · August 3, 1998
US11 and US2 encode gene products expressed early in the replicative cycle of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), which cause dislocation of human and murine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules from the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum to ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleMol Immunol · February 1998
Antigen presentation at the maternal-fetal interface has been characterized by a reported lack of classical MHC class I products and the presence of a tissue-restricted, non-classical class I product with limited polymorphism, HLA-G. The lack of HLA-A, -B, ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJ Immunol · October 15, 1996
Spontaneous fetal loss is associated with herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection as deduced from epidemiologic data. To date, the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated, but an immune component is suspected. HLA-G is a class I MHC molecule selectively ...
Link to itemCite
Journal ArticleHum Reprod · May 1996
Progesterone is a known immunosupressant in humans and may be important in treatment regimens for women with immunological and endocrinological reproductive failure. The molecular mechanism of progesterone-mediated immunosuppression remains controversial. ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleJ Soc Gynecol Investig · 1996
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that serum levels of T helper [Th]-1-type (interleukin [IL]-2, interferon [IFN]-gamma, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-alpha) and Th2-type (IL-10) cytokines and the soluble intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) are assoc ...
Full textLink to itemCite
Journal ArticleInfertility and Reproductive Medicine Clinics of North America · September 20, 1995
Treatment options for the perimenopausal woman with symptomatic uterine fibroids include expectant management, medical therapy, and surgical intervention. Expectant management with close clinical follow-up evaluation is the treatment of choice for either t ...
Cite
Journal ArticleObstet Gynecol · May 1994
BACKGROUND: Carcinoma metastatic to the uterus from extragenital sites is rare. Such metastatic disease is typically diagnosed at autopsy or in patients with known primary malignancies. This report discusses two cases of primary carcinoma of the gallbladde ...
Link to itemCite
Journal ArticleJ Reprod Med · September 1993
Both heterotopic pregnancies and primary neoplasms of the fallopian tube are rare occurrences. A patient presented with early pregnancy, abdominal pain and ultrasound findings of an intrauterine gestation and a fallopian tube mass. Laparotomy revealed a pr ...
Link to itemCite