Decidual factors and vasoactive intestinal peptide guide monocytes to higher migration, efferocytosis and wound healing in term human pregnancy.

Aim: To explore the functional profile of circulating monocytes and decidual macrophages at term human pregnancy and their contribution to tissue repair upon stimulation ex vivo with decidual factors and the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP).

Methods: Peripheral blood monocytes were isolated from pregnant and non-pregnant volunteers and tested in vitro with decidual explants from term placenta and VIP. The effect of VIP on decidual explants and the effect of its conditioned media on monocytes or decidual macrophages isolated by magnetic beads was carried out by RT-qPCR and ELISA for cytokines expression and release.

Discordance of cord insertions as a predictor of discordant fetal growth in monochorionic twins.

Introduction: The type of cord insertion within monochorionic twin pairs could be different. The purpose of study is to evaluate the association of different combinations of placental umbilical cord insertions with birth weight discordance in a large cohort of monochorionic twins.

Methods: All consecutive monochorionic placentas from either uncomplicated twin pregnancies or with fetal weight discordance examined and injected with color dye at our centers were included in this study (n = 374).