BACKGROUND: Many studies have investigated heavy metal exposure could increase the occurrence of congenital heart defects (CHDs). However, there are limited data regarding the relationship between cobalt exposure and CHD occurrence in offspring. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between cobalt exposure in mothers and the risk of CHDs in offspring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In order to explore the association between cobalt exposure and occurrence of congenital heart defect (CHD), a case-control study with 490 controls and 399 cases with CHDs in China were developed. The concentrations of cobalt in hair of pregnant woman and fetal placental tissue were measured and processed by a logistic regression analysis to explore the relationship between cobalt exposure and risk of CHDs. RESULTS: The median concentration of hair cobalt in the control and case group was 0.023 ng/mg and 0.033 ng/mg (aOR, 1.837; 95% CI, 1.468-2.299; P < 0.001), respectively. And the median (5-95% range) fetal placental cobalt concentrations were 19.350 ng/g and 42.500 ng/g (aOR, 2.924; 95% CI, 2.211-3.868; P < 0.001) in the control and case groups, respectively. Significant differences in the middle level of cobalt in hair were found in the different CHD subtypes, including septal defects, conotruncal defects, right ventricular outflow tract obstruction, and left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (P < 0.001). Dramatically, different cobalt concentrations in fetal placental tissue were found in all subtypes of cases with CHDs (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The finding suggested that the occurrence of CHDs may be associated with cobalt exposure.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; Cobalt ; adverse effects ; Female ; Hair ; chemistry ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; chemically induced ; Humans ; Maternal Exposure ; adverse effects ; Placenta ; chemistry ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ; chemically induced ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: The effects of prenatal exposure to toxic elements on birth outcomes and child development have been an area of concern. This study aimed to assess the profile of prenatal exposure to toxic elements, arsenic (As), bismuth (Bi), cadmium (Cd), mercury (total mercury (THg), methylmercury (MHg), inorganic mercury (IHg)), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb) and tin (Sn), and essential trace elements, copper (Cu), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn), using the maternal blood, cord blood and placenta in the Tohoku Study of Child Development of Japan (N = 594-650). METHODS: Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to determine the concentrations of these elements (except mercury). Levels of THg and MeHg were measured using cold vapour atomic absorption spectrophotometry and a gas chromatograph-electron capture detector, respectively. RESULTS: Median concentrations (25th-75th) of As, Cd, Pb, Sb, Sn and THg in the maternal blood were 4.06 (2.68-6.81), 1.18 (0.74-1.79), 10.8 (8.65-13.5), 0.2 (0.06-0.40) and 0.2 (0.1-0.38) ng mL and 5.42 (3.89-7.59) ng g, respectively. Median concentrations (25th-75th) of As, Cd, Pb, Sb, Sn and THg in the cord blood were 3.68 (2.58-5.25), 0.53 (0.10-1.25), 9.89 (8.02-12.5), 0.39 (0.06-0.92) and 0.2 (0.2-0.38) ng mL and 9.96 (7.05-13.8) ng g, respectively. CONCLUSIONS THg and Sb levels in the cord blood were twofold higher than those in the maternal blood. Cord blood to maternal blood ratios for As, Cd and Sb widely varied between individuals. To understand the effects of prenatal exposure, further research regarding the variations of placental transfer of elements is necessary.
Adult ; Female ; Fetal Blood ; chemistry ; Humans ; Japan ; Maternal Exposure ; statistics & numerical data ; Maternal-Fetal Exchange ; Metals ; blood ; Placenta ; chemistry ; Pregnancy ; blood ; Trace Elements ; blood ; Urban Health

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the role of Ureaplasma urealyticum-derived lipid-associated membrane proteins (LAMPs) in the host innate immune system, specifically their effect on Toll-like receptors (TLRs). METHODS: LAMPs were derived from U. urealyticum strains, and human amniotic epithelial cells (HAECs) were isolated from healthy full-term placentas. Cytokine concentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and TLR2 mRNA by real-time PCR. Expression of TLR2 was confirmed by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: LAMPs induced HAECs to produce inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. Cytokine production was reduced after blocking TLR2 using TLR2 inhibitor (anti-hTLR2-IgA). CONCLUSIONS LAMPs isolated from U. urealyticum induced TLR2-dependent up-regulation of inflammatory genes and cytokines in HAECs.
Amnion/cytology* ; Amniotic Fluid/cytology* ; Cytokines/metabolism* ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Epithelial Cells/metabolism* ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Interleukin-8/metabolism* ; Lipids/chemistry* ; Lipopolysaccharides/metabolism* ; Membrane Proteins/metabolism* ; Placenta/metabolism* ; Pregnancy ; Toll-Like Receptor 2/metabolism* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Up-Regulation ; Ureaplasma urealyticum/metabolism*

The sequestration of infected erythrocytes in the placenta can activate the syncytiotrophoblast to release cytokines that affect the micro-environment and influence the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to fetus. The high level of IL-10 has been reported in the intervillous space and could prevent the pathological effects. There is still no data of Th17 involvement in the pathogenesis of placental malaria. This study was conducted to reveal the influence of placental IL-17 and IL-10 levels on fetal weights in malaria placenta. Seventeen pregnant BALB/C mice were divided into control (8 pregnant mice) and treatment group (9 pregnant mice infected by Plasmodium berghei). Placental specimens stained with hematoxylin and eosin were examined to determine the level of cytoadherence by counting the infected erythrocytes in the intervillous space of placenta. Levels of IL-17 and IL-10 in the placenta were measured using ELISA. All fetuses were weighed by analytical balance. Statistical analysis using Structural Equation Modeling showed that cytoadherence caused an increased level of placental IL-17 and a decreased level of placental IL-10. Cytoadherence also caused low fetal weight. The increased level of placental IL-17 caused low fetal weight, and interestingly low fetal weight was caused by a decrease of placental IL-10. It can be concluded that low fetal weight in placental malaria is directly caused by sequestration of the parasites and indirectly by the local imbalance of IL-17 and IL-10 levels.
Animals ; Female ; *Fetal Weight ; Humans ; Interleukin-10/*analysis/metabolism ; Interleukin-17/*analysis/metabolism ; Malaria/*metabolism/parasitology/physiopathology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Placenta/*chemistry/metabolism ; Plasmodium berghei/*physiology ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic/*metabolism/parasitology/physiopathology

In order to provide a new method for the identification of Placenta hominis, the COI barcode has been employed to identify the P. hominis medicinal materials and its adulterants. Genomic DNA was extracted from the experimental samples. The COI sequences were amplified and sequenced bi-directionally. Sequence assembly and consensus sequence generation were performed using the CodonCode Aligner. NJ tree was constructed by MEGA6.0 software. COI sequences can be successfully obtained from all experimental samples. The intra-specific variation and inter-specific divergence were calculated. The average intra-specific K2P distance of P. hominis was 0.001 and the maximum intra-specific distance was 0.008. The cluster dendrogram constructed can be seen that the same genus is together, and distinguished from its adulterants. It is concluded that P. hominis and its adulterants can be correctly identified by DNA barcoding method.
Animals ; Cattle ; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic ; methods ; Drug Contamination ; prevention & control ; Electron Transport Complex IV ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Placenta ; chemistry ; enzymology ; Pregnancy ; Quality Control ; Sheep ; Swine

Five influencing factors of the polymerization process of glutaraldehyde with hemoglobin were studied in cluding the approach of feeding glutaraldehyde, hemoglobin concentration, the molar ratio of glutaraldehyde and hemoglobin, reaction time and temperature, in order to reduce the average molecular weight and to improve the effective polymerization ratio. The results showed that the optimal process reduced the average molecular weight of hemoglobin based oxygen carriers (HBOCs) from (350.20 +/- 35.45)kD to (158.60 +/- 8.70)kD and improved the effective polymerization ratio from 53.27% +/- 4.95% to 69.50% +/- 3.70%. When the experiments expanded 30 folds, the results of the effective polymerization ratio and the average molecular weight mentioned above could be achieved.
Female ; Glutaral ; chemistry ; Hemoglobins ; chemistry ; Humans ; Molecular Weight ; Oxygen ; chemistry ; Placenta ; Polymerization ; Pregnancy

The present study was aimed to investigate the influence of freeze-drying on the quality of polymerized human placenta hemoglobin (PolyPHb). The PolyPHb solution was freeze-drying under suitable conditions. Hemoglobin concentration, methemoglobin (MetHb) content, UV spectrum, Fe3 content, oxygen-carrying capacity, pH, the average molecular weight and its distribution, circular dichroism, oxygen equilibrium curve and other indicators were measured before and after freeze-drying. The appearance, residual water content, rehydration time of the lyophilized product were also evaluated. The results showed that there was no significant difference on all the indicators measured above, which indicated that freeze-drying process had no effect on the physical and chemical properties of PolyPHb, as well as on its biological activity. Therefore, the properties of PolyPHb were stable during this freeze-drying process and could be preserved after such freeze-drying process.
Blood Substitutes ; Female ; Freeze Drying ; methods ; Hemoglobins ; chemistry ; Humans ; Methemoglobin ; analysis ; Placenta ; chemistry ; Polymerization ; Pregnancy

OBJECTIVETo study ingredients penetrable through placental barrier by administering pregnant rats with Scutellaria Radix extract using HPLC-MS.

METHODRats in early, middle and late pregnancy were intragastrically administered with Scutellaria Radix extract for 5 days. Maternal plasma and embryonic tissues were obtained at 1.5, 12 h after the final administration of Scutellaria Radix extract to determine ingredients of biological specimens.

RESULTUnder the optimum experimental conditions, seven compounds were detected in all pregnant rat plasma, specifically including baicalin, wogonoside, baicalein, wogonin and oroxylin A. The seven compounds were also discovered in embryonic tissues of rats in early pregnancy, including the five detected compounds. But they were not detected in embryonic tissues of rats in middle pregnancy, and six compounds except baicalein were detected embryonic tissues of rats in late pregnancy.

CONCLUSIONIngredients contained in Scutellaria Radix are detected in pregnant rats at different stages, except those in middle pregnancy, indicating a potential in utero exposure in case of oral administration of Scutellaria Radix pregnancy. Therefore, a study of embryotoxicity shall be continued to evaluate the safety of Scutellaria Radix extract.

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Female ; Placenta ; metabolism ; Plant Extracts ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Pregnancy ; Rats ; Scutellaria baicalensis ; chemistry

While human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have promising applications in regenerative medicine, most of the hiPSC lines available today are not suitable for clinical applications due to contamination with nonhuman materials, such as sialic acid, and potential pathogens from animal-product-containing cell culture systems. Although several xeno-free cell culture systems have been established recently, their use of human fibroblasts as feeders reduces the clinical potential of hiPSCs due to batch-to-batch variation in the feeders and time-consuming preparation processes. In this study, we have developed a xeno-free and feeder-cell-free human embryonic stem cell (hESC)/hiPSC culture system using human plasma and human placenta extracts. The system maintains the self-renewing capacity and pluripotency of hESCs for more than 40 passages. Human iPSCs were also derived from human dermal fibroblasts using this culture system by overexpressing three transcription factors-Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog. The culture system developed here is inexpensive and suitable for large scale production.
Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Cell Differentiation ; Cellular Reprogramming ; Culture Media ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; isolation & purification ; Female ; Fibroblasts ; cytology ; Humans ; Lentivirus ; genetics ; Placenta ; chemistry ; Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Sodium Chloride ; chemistry ; Transcription Factors ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo explore the differences of metabolic footprint in the conditioned culture medium of placental explants between early-onset and late-onset severe preeclampsia.

METHODSIn 13 cases of early-onset severe preeclampsia and 14 cases of late-onset severe preeclampsia, the placentas were sampled at the surface of the maternal placenta. High performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was used to determine the differences in the metabolites in the conditioned culture medium of the placental villous explants cultured in 6% atmospheric O(2) for 96 h. Standard samples were used to establish the tryptophan and kynurenine chromatography library by HPLC-MS to analyze the concentration of tryptophan and kynurenine in the conditioned culture medium.

RESULTSThirty-six metabolites showed statistically significant differences between early-onset and late-onset severe preeclampsia (P<0.05). The concentration of kynurenine was significantly higher in early-onset severe preeclampsia than in late-onset severe preeclampsia (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONEarly-onset and late-onset severe preeclampsia may have different pathogeneses. By detecting the concentration of metabolites, metabolomic strategies provide a new means for predicting the onset time of severe preeclampsia.

Chorionic Villi ; metabolism ; Culture Media, Conditioned ; chemistry ; Female ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Kynurenine ; metabolism ; Ornithine ; metabolism ; Placenta ; metabolism ; Pre-Eclampsia ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Tryptophan ; metabolism