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Updated: May 15, 2026

Isolation of Leukocytes from the Human Maternal-fetal Interface
08:19

Isolation of Leukocytes from the Human Maternal-fetal Interface

Published on: May 21, 2015

Expression of Nuclear Receptor Coactivators in the Human Fetal Membranes at Term before and after Labor

Che-Wei Ryan Ou1, Meihua Sun, Weronika Sadej

  • 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, The Ottawa Hospital, General Campus, 501 Smyth Road, Room 8420, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1H 8L6.

Obstetrics and Gynecology International
|January 15, 2013
PubMed

Human fetal membranes play an important role in term and preterm labor and are responsive to steroids. We examined the expression of steroid receptor coactivators in fetal membranes obtained prior to and following labor at term. Proteins were localized by immunohistochemistry, Western analysis was carried out in nuclear extracts, and mRNA levels were determined by real-time RT-PCR. SRC-1, SRC-2, p300, and PCAF proteins were present in all nuclear extracts. The amnion nuclei expressed higher levels of SRC-1, p300, and PCAF than nuclei from the chorion-decidua, whereas the reverse was true for SRC-2. Chorion-decidua from patients before labor expressed higher levels of SRC-1 than those from patients after labor. Also, the PCAF level was higher in the amnion obtained before labor than the same tissue obtained after labor. In contrast to the protein expression, mRNA levels of SRC-1 and p300 were higher in the chorion-decidua compared to the amnion, whereas there was no difference in levels of SRC-2 and PCAF mRNAs between these two tissues. These data underline that the regulation of the expression of the coactivators in these tissues occurs during labor and is complex and tissue specific.

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