Coincubation--an experimental approach to the study of decidual-trophoblast interaction

Coincubation of trophoblast and decidual tissue explants was used for the study of placental-endometrial interaction in early pregnancy. To this end two types of experiments were performed: coincubation with (type A) and without (type B) direct tissue contact. The rate of incorporation of [14C]leucine into cytosol proteins in both tissues was employed for the estimation of total protein synthesis. Prolactin production in vitro was used as a specific marker of the decidual and hCG of the trophoblast cell function. The results show that the type A coincubation experiments produced a strong inhibition of cytosol protein synthesis in both tissues. PRL production by the decidual tissue and hCG production by the trophoblast tissue was reduced. In the type B coincubation experiments protein synthesis and prolactin production by the decidual tissue remained within the control range. In the trophoblast tissue explants protein synthesis and hCG production were depressed. The degree of inhibition was, however, lower than that in type-A experiments. Based on these results it was concluded that the in vitro model of coincubation of trophoblast and decidual tissue explants is suitable for the study of the role of tissue interactions in vitro.