@Article{ecn.2007.0102,
AUTHOR = {Alaa Amash, Mahmoud Huleihel, Sheiner Eyal, Ester Maor, Leslie Myatt, Gershon Holcberg},
TITLE = {The expression of interleukin-15 and interleukin-18 by human term placenta is not affected by lipopolysaccharide},
JOURNAL = {European Cytokine Network},
VOLUME = {18},
YEAR = {2007},
NUMBER = {4},
PAGES = {188--194},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/ECN/v18n4/65969},
ISSN = {1952-4005},
ABSTRACT = {The aim of the study was to examine the stimulatory effect of the inflammatory agent lipopolysac-charide
(LPS) on the capacity of human term placenta to secrete interleukin (IL)-15 and IL-18. Isolated placental
cotyledons from normal human term deliveries were dually perfused for ten hours with perfusion medium alone
(n = 5) or with perfusion medium containing LPS (1 lg/kg perfused placental tissue) (n = 5). Placental tissue was
collected from three different placental compartments (amnion, chorion, and placenta) before and after perfusion.
The placental tissues collected were homogenized and examined for IL-15 and IL-18 by ELISA. In addition,
formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded sections from term placentas before perfusion were stained by immuno-histochemistry
to characterize the cellular origin of placental IL-15 and IL-18. Statistical significance was
determined using paired/unpaired t-test. p < 0.05 was considered significant. Our results show that IL-15 and
IL-18 are produced more by chorionic tissue, as compared to the amnion and placental tissues. Moreover, we show
that IL-15 and IL-18 are expressed by epithelial cells of the amnion, chorionic cells of the chorion and decidual
cells of the decidua. However, IL-15, but not IL-18, was expressed also by syncytiotrophoblasts of the villi.
Perfusion of LPS did not affect the capacity of amnion, chorion and placental tissues to secrete IL-15 and IL-18,
as compared to control. The expression of IL-15 and IL-18 in the different compartments of the human placenta
suggests a possible role for these two cytokines in normal placental development, pregnancy and labor. Moreover,
our results indicate that IL-15 and IL-18 are not part of the mechanism of the response of human placenta to LPS.},
DOI = {10.1684/ecn.2007.0102}
}