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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Isolation of Primary Human Decidual Cells from the Fetal Membranes of Term Placentae
Published on: April 30, 2018
Progesterone protects fetal chorion and maternal decidua cells from calcium-induced death
Amy P Murtha1, Liping Feng, Bryan Yonish
1Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to determine whether progesterone exerts a protective effect in chorion and decidua cells when exposed to calcimycin.
Study Design:
Fetal membrane samples were collected from term elective repeat cesarean deliveries and chorion and decidua cells that are separated and cultured. Cells were pretreated with progesterone and exposed to calcimycin. Cell viability was determined, and percent cell viability was calculated.
Results:
Exposure to calcimycin resulted in a reduction of cell viability in both chorion and decidua cells in a dose-dependent fashion. In chorion and decidua cells, progesterone pretreatment followed by calcimycin increased cell viability compared with calcimycin treatment alone (chorion, 67%, vs controls, 24%; P < .001; decidua, 58%, vs controls, 35%; P < .001). The progesterone receptor antagonist, RTI 6413-49a, blocked the protective effect of progesterone in both chorion and decidua cells.
Conclusion:
These preliminary results suggest that progesterone may provide a protective effect in fetal membrane cells and that this effect may be mediated through the progesterone receptor.
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