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Updated: May 31, 2026

Isolation of Leukocytes from the Human Maternal-fetal Interface
Published on: May 21, 2015
Specific inflammatory microenvironments in the zones of the fetal membranes at term delivery
Nardhy Gomez-Lopez1, Lourdes Vadillo-Perez, Ana Hernandez-Carbajal
1Instituto Nacional de Perinatologia Isidro Espinosa de los Reyes, Mexico City, Mexico. gomezlop@ualberta.ca
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to examine the histologic and immunologic differences between fetal membrane zones after membrane rupture at term delivery.
Study Design:
Fetal membrane explants from postrupture zones (periplacental, middle, rupture) were obtained from women following spontaneous vaginal delivery at term (n = 5). Tissues for histology, protein extracts, and RNA were isolated.
Results:
The collagen distribution decreased and the leukocyte density increased from the periplacental zone to the rupture zone. T cells were mainly present in the rupture zone and granulocytes in the middle zone. CXCL10, CXCR1, ICAM-1, -2, PSEL, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 levels were higher in the middle zone than in the rupture zone and periplacental zone (P < .021). Interleukin-1beta and CXCL8 levels were higher in the rupture zone than in the middle zone and periplacental zone (P = .018 and P < .0001).
Conclusion:
During labor specific immunologic microenvironments are created in the zones of the fetal membrane that may be involved in their rupture at the end of gestation.
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