Study on apoptosis of placental villous cells as a defense mechanism against intrauterine viral infections from mother to fetus

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

It has been well known that the placenta has a protective action against viral transmission from mother to fetus, which is called "the placental barrier". However, the mechanism of "the placental barrier'' is still not well elucidated. Human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection of pregnant women is rarely transmitted to fetuses. In the present study, the association between HTLV-I infection and apoptosis of the placental villous cells was investigated. The results obtained were as follows. 1. TdT mediated UTP nick end labeling method revealed that the incidence of apoptosis-positive placental villous cells in placentas from HTLV-I-seropositive pregnant women (n=8) was significantly higher than HTLV-I-seronegative pregnant women (n=8). 2. Apoptosis was induced in placental villous cells by co-culturing with HTLV-I-infected lymphocytes (MT-2 cells). 3. There was no difference in the weight of term placentas between the HTLV-I-seropositive pregnant women (n=69) and HTLV-I-seronegatives (n=300). The birth weight of the babies showed no difference between the two groups either. 4. Apoptosis was induced in HTLV-I-infected lymphocytes (MT-2 cells), when co-cultured with placenetal villous cells.