The Association between Low Fetal Fraction of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes for Placental Compromise.

(1) Background: Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is a screening test for fetal aneuploidy using cell-free fetal DNA. The fetal fragments (FF) of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) are derived from apoptotic trophoblast of the placenta. The level of fetal cfDNA is known to be influenced by gestational age, multiple pregnancies, maternal weight, and height.

Maternal Anemia during the First Trimester and Its Association with Psychological Health.

Anemia during pregnancy is known to be associated with an increased risk of antenatal and/or postnatal depression, as well as adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, there are few studies evaluating psychological health throughout the antepartum and postpartum periods in women with anemia in early pregnancy. This study analyzed data collected by the Korean Pregnancy Outcome Study, a multicenter prospective cohort study conducted in South Korea, to determine the impact of anemia during the first trimester on birth outcomes and maternal mental health during pregnancy and postpartum.

Clinically significant maternal X chromosomal copy number variation detected by noninvasive prenatal test.

Maternal copy number variation (CNV), especially at the X chromosome is an important cause of false positive noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) results for sex chromosomal aneuploidy. In addition, some maternal CNV can cause significant anomalies if the male fetus was inherited the X chromosome with CNV. During 1000 high risk Korean NIPT, we incidentally detected two cases of maternal X chromosomal CNV which can cause abnormal phenotype in a male fetus.

Evaluating the influence of climate change on the fate and transport of fecal coliform bacteria using the modified SWAT model.

Fecal coliform bacteria (FCB) contamination of natural waters is a serious public health issue. Therefore, understanding and anticipating the fate and transport of FCB are important for reducing the risk of contracting diseases. The objective of this study was to analyze the impacts of climate change on the fate and transport of FCB.

Hypoxia-induced downregulation of XIAP in trophoblasts mediates apoptosis via interaction with IMUP-2: implications for placental development during pre-eclampsia.

The regulation of trophoblast apoptosis is essential for normal placentation, and increased placental trophoblast cell apoptosis is the cause of pathologies such as intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and pre-eclampsia. X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) is expressed in trophoblasts, but little is known about the role of XIAP in placental development. In the present study, the function of XIAP in the placenta and in HTR-8/SVneo trophoblasts under hypoxic conditions was examined.

Prognostic factors for treatment outcomes in transient tachypnea of the newborn.

Background: Transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) is a clinical syndrome associated with respiratory distress usually seen shortly after delivery in infants. This study aims to determine the risk factors predicting treatment outcomes in infants with TTN.

Methods: Data from 236 infants diagnosed with TTN during the study period were evaluated retrospectively.

Human chorionic-plate-derived mesenchymal stem cells and Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells: a comparative analysis of their potential as placenta-derived stem cells.

Placenta-derived stem cells (PDSCs) have gained interest as an alternative source of stem cells for regenerative medicine because of their potential for self-renewal and differentiation and their immunomodulatory properties. Although many studies have characterized various PDSCs biologically, the properties of the self-renewal and differentiation potential among PDSCs have not yet been directly compared. We consider the characterization of chorionic-plate-derived mesenchymal stem cells (CP-MSCs) and Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) among various PDSCs and the assessment of their differentiation potential to be important for future studies into the applicability and effectiveness of PDSCs in cell therapy.

ITI-H4, as a biomarker in the serum of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) patients.

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is defined as at least three pregnancy losses in series prior to the 20-28 weeks of pregnancy. There are several etiological factors associated with immunology, anatomy, endocrinology, genetic, infection, chromosomal abnormalities, and environmental factors contributing to the condition. The aim of this study was to identify RPL associated factors in human blood using proteomics.

Comparative proteomic analysis of human amniotic fluid supernatants with Down syndrome using mass spectrometry.

Down syndrome (DS) is an abnormality of the 21st chromosome that commonly occurs in children born to advanced age women. Amniotic fluid (AF) is usually collected from such women for prenatal diagnosis. This study analyzed human AF supernatants (AFS) by mass spectrometric (MS) approach to search for candidate biomarkers of DS pregnancy.

Increased immortalization-upregulated protein 2 (IMUP-2) by hypoxia induces apoptosis of the trophoblast and pre-eclampsia.

In regulation of the developmental process, the balance between cellular proliferation and cell death is critical. Placental development tightly controls this mechanism, and increased apoptosis of placental trophoblasts can cause a variety of gynecological diseases. Members of the immortalization-upregulated protein (IMUP) family are nuclear proteins implicated in SV40-mediated immortalization and cellular proliferation; however, the mechanisms by which their expression is regulated in placental development are still unknown.

14-3-3 gamma is stimulated by IL-3 and promotes cell proliferation.

IL-3 plays important roles in the growth and survival of hematopoietic progenitor cells, processes modeled in studies of the IL-3-dependent cell line Ba/F3. To gain insights into molecular mechanisms governing cell fate, we examined the patterns of proteins up-regulated following stimulation of Ba/F3 cells with IL-3. Through two-dimensional electrophoresis and proteomics-based approaches, we identified 11 proteins.

Association study for single nucleotide polymorphisms in the CYP17A1 gene and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are characterized by excess androgen secretion and anovulatory infertility as a cause of follicular maturation arrest, and they are also associated with insulin resistance and obesity. Recently, it was suggested that one of the etiologies for PCOS is an abnormality of steroid hormones, and excessive secretion of androgen. The endoplasmic reticular cytochrome P450, 17alpha-hydroxylase (CYP17A), plays a key role in the mechanism of steroid hormones such as adrenal and gonadal steroid biosynthesis.

Clonally expanded novel multipotent stem cells from human bone marrow regenerate myocardium after myocardial infarction.

We have identified a subpopulation of stem cells within adult human BM, isolated at the single-cell level, that self-renew without loss of multipotency for more than 140 population doublings and exhibit the capacity for differentiation into cells of all 3 germ layers. Based on surface marker expression, these clonally expanded human BM-derived multipotent stem cells (hBMSCs) do not appear to belong to any previously described BM-derived stem cell population. Intramyocardial transplantation of hBMSCs after myocardial infarction resulted in robust engraftment of transplanted cells, which exhibited colocalization with markers of cardiomyocyte (CMC), EC, and smooth muscle cell (SMC) identity, consistent with differentiation of hBMSCs into multiple lineages in vivo.

ROC analysis of an erythroblast morphologic scoring system to improve identification of fetal cells in maternal blood.

Objectives: Nucleated red blood cells are used in research settings as a target cell type for investigations of noninvasive prenatal diagnosis, and these cells have a characteristic nuclear morphology and hemoglobin staining pattern that makes them distinguishable from maternal cells. Recently, we developed an erythroblast scoring system based on these characteristics. Here, we employ statistical analyses to further characterize the utility of this scoring system.

Cervical cancer and microchimerism.

Objective: To determine whether microchimerism is involved in the pathogenesis or progression of cervical cancer.

Methods: Cervical tissue was obtained from eight women who had at least one live-born son and who underwent radical hysterectomy after a diagnosis of cervical cancer. Control tissue was obtained from four women without cervical cancer who had at least one live-born son and from three women with cervical cancer and no male births.

A simple and sensitive erythroblast scoring system to identify fetal cells in maternal blood.

Objectives: Nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) of fetal origin appear to have distinguishable characteristics from that of maternal NRBCs in both nuclear morphology and properties of hemoglobin staining. However, these differences have yet to be quantified. Our aim was to develop an erythroblast scoring system using four distinct phenotypic parameters (nuclear roundness, nuclear morphology, gamma hemoglobin staining intensity, and peripheral brightness of the stained cytoplasm) to address this issue.