Placentas associated with female neonates from pregnancies complicated by urinary tract infections have higher cAMP content and cytokines expression than males

In Vitro Culturing of Human Trophoblasts from Term Placenta

Since the early 1960s, researchers began culturing placental cells to establish an in vitro model to study the biology of human trophoblasts, including their ability to differentiate into syncytiotrophoblasts and secrete steroid and peptide hormones that help sustain a viable pregnancy. This task was addressed by testing different serum concentrations, cell culture media, digestive enzymes, growth factors, substrate coating with diverse proteins from the extracellular matrix, and so on. Among the many methodological challenges, the contamination of trophoblasts with other cell types, such as immune and stromal cells, was a matter of concern. However, introducing the Percoll gradient to isolate cytotrophoblasts was an excellent contribution, and later, the depletion of contaminating cells by using magnetic bead-conjugated antibodies also helped increase the purity of cytotrophoblasts. Herein, with some modifications, we describe a rapid and easy method for cytotrophoblast isolation from the term human placenta based on the previously reported method by Harvey Kliman et al. (Endocrinology 118:1567-1582, 1986). This method yields about 40-90 million cells from a single placenta, with a purity of around 85-90%.

The association between female newborn and placental malaria infection: A case-control study

INTRODUCTION

There are few published data on the influence of the sex of the fetus or the newborn on the rate of malaria infection. Moreover, the results of these studies are not conclusive. This study was conducted to investigate the association between sex of the newborn and placental malaria infection.

METHODS

A case-control study was conducted at Al Jabalian maternity hospital in central Sudan during the rainy and post rainy seasons from May to December 2020. The cases were women who had placental malaria, while the controls were subsequent women who had no placental malaria. A questionnaire was filled out by each woman in the case and control groups in order to gather demographic data as well as medical and obstetric history. Malaria was diagnosed using blood films. Logistic regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS

There were 678 women in each arm of the study. Compared with the women without placental malaria (controls), women with placental malaria had a significantly lower age and parity. A significantly higher number of the cases had delivered female newborns, 453 (66.8%) vs. 208 (30.7%), P < 0.001. In logistic regression, women with placental malaria: lived in rural areas, had low antenatal attendance, did not use bed nets, and had more female newborns (adjusted odds ratio, AOR = 2.90, 95% CI = 2.08-4.04).

DISCUSSION

Women who delivered female were more likely to have placental malaria. Further research into the immunologic and biochemical parameters is warranted.

Research progress of signaling pathways of the natural substances intervene dyslipidemia (Review)

Dyslipidemia is an umbrella term for a range of lipid metabolic disorders in the body. This condition has been widely reported to greatly increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, threatening human health. In recent years, advances in molecular biology have deepened understanding of the dyslipidemia-related signaling pathways and specific mechanisms underlying dyslipidemia. Signaling pathways possess the ability to transmit an extracellular signal to the inside of the cell, leading to specific biological effects. Lipid metabolism disorders and lipid levels in the blood are frequently affected by aberrant alterations in the dyslipidemia-related signaling pathways. Therefore, further investigations into these pathways are required for the prevention and treatment of dyslipidemia. The present review summarizes the characteristics of six dyslipidemia-associated signaling pathways: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, farnesoid X receptor, forkhead box O, adipocytokine and cyclic adenosine monophosphate signaling pathways. In particular, specific focus was placed on previous experimental studies and reports on the intervention effects of natural substances (compounds from animals, plants, marine organisms and microorganisms) on dyslipidemia.

Impaired Intrauterine Growth in the Context of Maternal Hookworm Infection During Gestation

Hookworm infection is associated with poor nutritional outcomes, anemia, and impaired cognitive performance. We examined the association between maternal hookworm infection and birth outcomes in a cohort of women in Leyte, Philippines. We observed poor intrauterine growth characteristics associated with maternal hookworm only among male offspring, with lower birth weight, head circumference, and placental surface area. Male neonates also had higher insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2) and lower adiponectin in cord blood. These data intriguingly suggest nutritional impacts of maternal hookworm infection during pregnancy may be divergent based on sex of the offspring.