Involvement of MAPK signalling in human villous trophoblast differentiation.

Human villous trophoblast differentiation is a complex and highly regulated process essential for the well-being of the pregnancy and fetal development. In this review, we present an overview of the role of MAPKs signalling in morphological and functional differentiation of villous trophoblast.

Isolation and culture of term human cytotrophoblast cells and in vitro methods for studying human cytotrophoblast cells' calcium uptake.

Human primary cytotrophoblast cell culture is a very useful model to study the endocrine and immunological functions of syncytiotrophoblasts, as well as the ion exchange between the mother and her fetus, like calcium. In this chapter, we expose the procedure to (1) isolate and purify the cytotrophoblast cells from human term placenta and (2) study syncytiotrophoblast calcium uptake. First, the methodology is based on the enzymatic dissociation of villous placental tissue, followed by Percoll gradient separation.

Mechanical strain increases cytokine and chemokine production in bronchial fibroblasts from asthmatic patients.

Background: Mechanical strain and cytokine stimulation are two important mechanisms leading to airway remodeling in asthma. The effect of mechanical strain on cytokine secretion in airway fibroblasts is not known. The aim of this study was to determine whether bronchial and nasal fibroblasts differentially alter cytokine secretion in response to mechanical strain.

PP2 regulates human trophoblast cells differentiation by activating p38 and ERK1/2 and inhibiting FAK activation.

Throughout gestation, fetal growth and development depend, in part, on placental transfer of nutrients from the maternal circulation. This latter function depends on multinucleated, terminally differentiated syncytiotrophoblasts. In vitro, freshly isolated cytotrophoblast cells differentiate spontaneously into syncytiotrophoblast in the presence of fetal bovine serum (FBS).

Induction of trophoblast cell fusion by a protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor.

In the placenta, trophoblast cell fusion leads to the formation of the syncytiotrophoblast, which plays an essential role in the diffusion of nutrients and hormones from the mother to the fetus. Different protein tyrosine kinases are involved in the modulation of this biological process. Herein, we investigated the impact of a protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) inhibitor (bpV[pic]) on trophoblast fusion.