Biomedical subjects

D J Dudley

Publications and source records attributed to D J Dudley.

58 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Inflammatory cytokine mRNA in human gestational tissues: implications for term and preterm labor.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if inflammatory cytokine mRNA in gestational tissues is present only in the setting of infection-associated preterm labor or under several other clinical conditions. METHODS: Human gestational tissues were collected from 51 women experiencing 1) term cesarean delivery without labor, 2) normal term vaginal delivery, 3) preterm cesarean delivery without labor, 4) preterm vaginal delivery without chorioamnionitis, and 5) preterm vaginal delivery with concomitant chorioamnionitis. Decidua, chorion, and amnion were isolated, total RNA from each tissue was extracted, and the presence of inflammatory cytokine mRNA was determined by polymerase chain reaction. Interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha mRNA was detected using specific oligonucleotide primers. RESULTS: Interleukin-1 beta mRNA was rarely found in tissues preterm without labor but was readily detected in both maternal and fetal tissues after labor, regardless of gestational age. Interleukin-6 mRNA was rare in tissues from the nonlaboring patient but was found in almost all tissues after labor. Interleukin-8 mRNA was detected in all tissues at term, both in nonlaboring and laboring patients. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha mRNA was detected in only 20-50% of tissues after labor, and was rarely detected in the absence of labor. CONCLUSIONS: Inflammatory cytokine mRNA is commonly expressed in human gestational tissues after normal labor and preterm labor with or without associated intrauterine infection. There was no difference in the pattern of expression of mRNA inflammatory cytokine in women who did or did not have clinically evident intrauterine infection.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Elevated concentrations of prorenin and renin in amniotic fluid of women with chorioamnionitis.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the concentrations of prorenin and renin in amniotic fluid of women under various physiologic and pathologic conditions. METHODS: Amniotic fluid was collected from women with chorioamnionitis treated in the Labor and Delivery Unit, University of Utah Medical Center, and from gestation-matched control women with preterm labor who were delivered within 1 week and later than 1 week and at term in labor or not in labor. Prorenin and renin concentrations were measured in these fluids by a direct immunoradiometric assay. RESULTS: Large amounts of prorenin and renin were detected in all samples with 85% to 95% in the form of prorenin. Concentrations of both prorenin and renin were significantly higher in the amniotic fluid of women with chorioamnionitis than in the amniotic fluid of control women. There were no other significant differences between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that amniotic fluid concentrations of renin and prorenin are elevated in women with clinically evident chorioamnionitis. We suggest that these elevations reflect a possible role for renin and prorenin in the pathophysiologic process of intrauterine infection-associated preterm labor.

Amniotic Fluid↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Expression of interleukin-10 in human gestational tissues.

OBJECTIVE: To determine production of interleukin-10 (IL-10) by interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) in cultured decidual, chorion, and amnion cells and whether IL-10 is produced in gestational tissues under the setting of infection-associated preterm labor. METHODS: Decidual, chorion, and amnion cells were isolated from term placentas and grown in primary culture. The cells were incubated with various concentrations of IL-1 beta and then culture supernatants were assayed for IL-10 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In subsequent studies, gestational membranes were isolated from a normal-term pregnancy and a preterm pregnancy complicated by chorioamnionitis. Tissues were evaluated for IL-10 expression by immunohistology and in situ hybridization. Human gestational tissues were collected from 38 women experiencing: 1) term cesarean delivery without labor; 2) normal-term vaginal delivery; 3) preterm cesarean delivery without labor; 4) preterm vaginal delivery without chorioamnionitis; and 5) preterm vaginal delivery with concomitant chorioamnionitis. Amnion, chorion, and decidua were isolated, total RNA from each tissue was extracted, and the presence of IL-10 mRNA was determined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Decidual cells in culture produced IL-10 in response to IL-1 beta, but chorion and amnion cells produced no IL-10 protein. In vivo protein expression by immunohistology showed that most protein was detected within decidua while cells within amnion and chorion rarely had detectable IL-10 protein. In vivo RT-PCR samples demonstrated the strongest IL-10 mRNA signal from decidua samples, although IL-10 mRNA was also noted in chorion and amnion of placentas obtained after preterm labor. CONCLUSION: Maternal decidual cells can potentially produce IL-10, but fetal membranes (amnion and chorion) appear to have limited capabilities to produce IL-10. The relative inability of fetal tissues to produce IL-10 may play an important role in the pathophysiology of infection-associated preterm labor.

Amnion↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ceramide stimulates prostaglandin production by human amnion and decidual cells.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether ceramide regulates prostaglandin (PG) production by cultured human amnion cells and decidual cells independently of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta). METHODS: Cells were grown in monolayer culture and then incubated with varying concentrations of ceramide, IL-1 beta, ceramide in the presence and absence of IL-1, and control media. Production of PGE2 was determined using a specific radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: Ceramide induced a significant concentration-dependent increase in PGE2 production by amnion cells and decidual cells. However, PGE2 production induced by IL-1 beta was significantly more than with ceramide alone, and there was no potentiation of PGE2 production with coincubation of ceramide and IL-1 beta. CONCLUSION: We suggest that term human amnion cells and decidual cells are responsive to ceramide independent of IL-1 beta and that generation of these substances in response to an infection in the uterus may lead to increased PG production by human gestational tissues, indicating that there are several mechanisms leading to PG production by these cells.

Amnion↗