scholarly journals Comparative studies of placentation and immunology in non-human primates suggest a scenario for the evolution of deep trophoblast invasion and an explanation for human pregnancy disorders

Reproduction ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 141 (4) ◽  
pp. 391-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony M Carter
Keyword(s):  
Human Interaction ◽  
Trophoblast Invasion ◽  
Old World Monkeys ◽  
Reproductive Disorders ◽  
Old World ◽  
Human Pregnancy ◽  
Uterine Natural Killer Cells ◽  
Maternal Genotype ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Fetal Genotype

Deep trophoblast invasion in the placental bed has been considered the hallmark of human pregnancy. It occurs by two routes, interstitial and endovascular, and results in transformation of the walls of the spiral arteries as they traverse the decidua and the inner third of the myometrium. Disturbances in this process are associated with reproductive disorders such preeclampsia. In contrast, trophoblast invasion in Old World monkeys occurs only by the endovascular route and seldom reaches the myometrium. Recently, it was shown that this pattern is maintained in gibbons, but that the human arrangement also occurs in chimpanzee and gorilla. There is an interesting parallel with results from placental immunology regarding the evolution of the major histocompatability complex class I antigen HLA-C and its cognate receptors. HLA-C is not present in Old World monkeys or gibbons. It emerged in the orangutan and became polymorphic in the lineage leading to gorilla, bonobo, chimpanzee, and human. Interaction between HLA-C1 and HLA-C2 on the surface of trophoblast and killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) expressed by uterine natural killer cells are important regulators of trophoblast invasion. Evolution of this system in great apes may have been one prerequisite for deep trophoblast invasion but seems to have come at a price. The evidence now suggests that certain combinations of maternal genotype for KIRs and fetal genotype for HLA-C imply an increased risk of preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and recurrent abortion. The fetal genotype is in part derived from the father providing an explanation for the paternal contribution to reproductive disorders.

526. GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS IN INTERLEUKIN-1 FAMILY MEMBERS AND PREGNANCY OUTCOME

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
R. C. Nowak ◽  
S. D. Thompson ◽  
J. Zhang ◽  
G. A. Dekker ◽  
C. T. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Pregnancy Outcome ◽  
Head Circumference ◽  
Interleukin 1 ◽  
Competitive Inhibitor ◽  
Placental Weight ◽  
Trophoblast Invasion ◽  
Placental Development ◽  
Maternal Genotype ◽  
And Function ◽  
Fetal Genotype

Poor placental development is associated with a variety of common, potentially life-threatening pregnancy complications, including preeclampsia (PE) and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) babies. The placenta and fetus express a combination of maternal and paternal genes. Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1α) and -1 beta (IL-1β) promote trophoblast invasion by upregulating expression of matrix metalloproteinases, while interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RN) acts as a competitive inhibitor of IL-1 a and IL-1β by binding to the IL-1 receptor. We hypothesis that polymorphisms which decrease IL-1 activity, within IL-1α rs1800587 (C-allele) and rs17561 (T-allele), IL-1β rs16944 (C-allele) and IL-1RN rs454078 (A-allele) affect placental development and thus pregnancy outcome. To determine the effect of the IL-1 SNPs on pregnancy outcome, blood was collected prospectively from pregnant women at 15 weeks gestation and from their partners and babies at birth. DNA was extracted and genotyped by Sequenom MassArray. Pregnancies were fully characterised and classified into control or PE, PE+SGA, SGA after delivery by an experienced obstetrician. The IL-1α rs1800587 fetal genotype was associated with PE+SGA and smaller head circumference at birth. IL-1α rs17561 fetal genotype was associated with PE+SGA, and a smaller head circumference and body length at birth. The frequency of IL-1β C-allele was associated with PE in neonates, and in fathers the CC homozygote genotype was associated with decreased placental weight at birth. The IL-1RN rs454078 maternal genotype was associated with PE and maternal waist circumference while fetal AA genotype was associated with SGA and decreased placental weight at birth. Genotypes which decrease the production of IL-1α and IL-1β while increasing IL-1RN will reduce proinflammatory cytokines and thereby affect the invasive potential of placental trophoblasts. We have shown that these polymorphisms in both parents may be associated with poor pregnancy outcome. Suggesting that both partners contribute to placental differentiation and function.

Ultrastructure and analytical microprobe analysis of simian lung mite pigments

1986 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 324-325
Author(s):  
R. W. Cole ◽  
J. C. Kim
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Tissue Damage ◽  
Microprobe Analysis ◽  
Old World Monkeys ◽  
Old World ◽  
Experimental Animals ◽  
The Past ◽  
Lung Mite ◽  
Mite Infestations ◽  
Cardiopulmonary System

In recent years, non-human primates have become indispensable as experimental animals in many fields of biomedical research. Pharmaceutical and related industries alone use about 2000,000 primates a year. Respiratory mite infestations in lungs of old world monkeys are of particular concern because the resulting tissue damage can directly effect experimental results, especially in those studies involving the cardiopulmonary system. There has been increasing documentation of primate parasitology in the past twenty years.

“Tho' she kneel'd in that place where they grew…” The uses and origins of primate colour vision

1989 ◽  
Vol 146 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Mollon
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Colour Vision ◽  
Visual Pathway ◽  
New World Monkeys ◽  
Old World Monkeys ◽  
Old World ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Local Sign ◽  
Retinal Photoreceptor ◽  
Recent Duplication

The disabilities experienced by colour-blind people show us the biological advantages of colour vision in detecting targets, in segregating the visual field and in identifying particular objects or states. Human dichromats have especial difficulty in detecting coloured fruit against dappled foliage that varies randomly in luminosity; it is suggested that yellow and orange tropical fruits have co-evolved with the trichromatic colour vision of Old World monkeys. It is argued that the colour vision of man and of the Old World monkeys depends on two subsystems that remain parallel and independent at early stages of the visual pathway. The primordial subsystem, which is shared with most mammals, depends on a comparison of the rates of quantum catch in the short- and middle-wave cones; this system exists almost exclusively for colour vision, although the chromatic signals carry with them a local sign that allows them to sustain several of the functions of spatiochromatic vision. The second subsystem arose from the phylogenetically recent duplication of a gene on the X-chromosome, and depends on a comparison of the rates of quantum catch in the long- and middle-wave receptors. At the early stages of the visual pathway, this chromatic information is carried by a channel that is also sensitive to spatial contrast. The New World monkeys have taken a different route to trichromacy: in species that are basically dichromatic, heterozygous females gain trichromacy as a result of X-chromosome inactivation, which ensures that different photopigments are expressed in two subsets of retinal photoreceptor.

Old World Monkeys

2021 ◽  
pp. 80-85
Author(s):  
Stephen R Frost ◽  
Christopher C Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Old World Monkeys ◽  
Old World
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