Immunobiology of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Post-Medawar Era.

Although the concepts related to fetal immune tolerance proposed by Sir Peter Medawar in the 1950s have not withstood the test of time, they revolutionized our current understanding of the immunity at the maternal-fetal interface. An important extension of the original Medawar paradigm is the investigation into the underlying mechanisms for adverse pregnancy outcomes, including recurrent spontaneous abortion, preterm birth, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Although a common pregnancy complication with systemic symptoms, GDM still lacks understanding of immunological perturbations associated with the pathological processes, particularly at the maternal-fetal interface.

Do endometrial natural killer and regulatory T cells differ in infertile and clinical pregnancy patients? An analysis in patients undergoing frozen embryo transfer cycles.

Problem: Clinical significance of endometrial and peripheral blood natural killer (NK) and regulatory T cells (Tregs) during frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles has not been well characterized.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Method Of Study: Endometrial tissue was collected from infertility patients prior to a frozen embryo transfer cycle as part of an endometrial receptivity analysis (ERA ) biopsy or endometrial scratch test.

Human chorionic gonadotropin-mediated modulation of pregnancy-compatible peripheral blood natural killer cells in frozen embryo transfer cycles.

Problem: To evaluate pregnancy-compatible phenotypic and functional changes in peripheral blood natural killer (pNK) cells during frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles.

Method Of Study: Peripheral blood was collected from patients undergoing frozen embryo transfer cycles at three separate time points in the cycle. pNK cell phenotype was analyzed by flow cytometry.

Novel predictive and therapeutic options for better pregnancy outcome in frozen embryo transfer cycles.

Since 1978, in the first decades of in vitro fertilization (IVF), the use of ovarian hyperstimulation allowed for the development and transfer of multiple embryos. As IVF technology improved, the number of multiple pregnancies increased, which led to gradual reduction in the number of embryos that were transferred. Embryo freezing (vitrification) was recommended to allow subsequent transfer if the fresh cycle was unsuccessful.

Correlation between heart valve interstitial cell stiffness and transvalvular pressure: implications for collagen biosynthesis.

It has been speculated that heart valve interstitial cells (VICs) maintain valvular tissue homeostasis through regulated extracellular matrix (primarily collagen) biosynthesis. VICs appear to be phenotypically plastic, inasmuch as they transdifferentiate into myofibroblasts during valve development, disease, and remodeling. Under normal physiological conditions, transvalvular pressures (TVPs) on the right and left side of the heart are vastly different.

Comparison of three myofibroblast cell sources for the tissue engineering of cardiac valves.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the capacity of three clinically useful tissue sources: tricuspid valve leaflet (TVL), carotid artery (CA), and jugular vein (JV), to generate myofibroblasts for potential use in a tissue-engineered cardiac valve replacement. Tissue biopsies of clinically appropriate sizes obtained from juvenile sheep were used for this work. Cells obtained from all three tissue sources exhibited a myofibroblast phenotype in vitro, as demonstrated by their immunoreactivity with antibodies directed against vimentin, alpha-smooth muscle actin, fibronectin, and chondroitin sulfate.

Tricuspid valve biopsy: a potential source of cardiac myofibroblast cells for tissue-engineered cardiac valves.

Background And Aims Of The Study: As progress is made in the development of a tissue-engineered cardiac valve, the need for a reliable cell source is particularly important. A technique has been developed for the reliable biopsy of tricuspid valve leaflets. Expanding the harvested cells in culture is feasible and provides a source of leaflet cells that are structurally and functionally similar to the pulmonary and aortic valve leaflet cells that they may replace.