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Updated: May 28, 2026

Isolation of Leukocytes from the Human Maternal-fetal Interface
Published on: May 21, 2015
[Expression of cell adhesion molecules in the maternal fetal period of human gestation]
Rodrigo Vega-Sánchez1, Elizabeth de Jesús-Torres, Marcia Arenas-Hernández
1Departamento de Investigación en Nutrición, Instituto Nacional de Parinatología Isidro Espinosa de los Reyes, México, DF. r.vega@servidor.inper.edu.mx
Background:
The human labor is an inflammatory process invading leukocytes modulated by gestational tissues. The local increase of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) promotes the permanence of these leukocytes in the coriodecidua. Gestational tissues express ICAM-1, while circulating leukocytes expressing its ligand Mac-1.
Objective:
To analyze, first, if the expression of CAMs in the fetal membranes is associated with progress of gestational age, and second, the expression of CAMs on circulating leukocytes in the uterus (placenta).
Material And Method:
original and closed study conducted at the Instituto Nacional de Perinatologia Isidro Espinosa de los Reyes (Mexico City). We included samples from healthy women between 15 and 44 years of age with term pregnancies (> or =37 weeks gestation).
Results:
Real time PCR analysis showed that the expression of CAMs in the fetal membranes remained constant before labor. ICAM3 and ICAM1 tended to increase during labor, while ICAM2, VCAM1, SELE and SELP decrease with advancing gestational age. Placental leukocytes showed a clear increase in the expression of ITGAM (Mac-1) during labor.
Conclusions:
These results show that the maternal-fetal interface expresses a specific combination of CAMs during labor, including ICAM1, ICAM-3 and Mac-1. The expression of these molecules could promote the retention of leukocytes in the local tissues to modulate the local inflammatory microenvironment during human labor.
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