SUMMARY Serum ferritin was measured in 51 term normal pregnant mothers and the corresponding cord blood samples. All of the mothers had received prophylactic oral iron and folate during pregnancy. The mean (ISD) maternal serum ferritin at the end of pregnancywas 584±429 ,ug/l (range ,ug/l), compared to a mean of 183 *2±61 *2 ,ug/l (range 62-313 ,ug/l) in these newborns.No correlation was found between the serum ferritin of mothers and babies, nor between the serum ferritin and serum iron of mothers at the end of pregnancy or between these parameters in the newborn.The iron content of the newborn infant is an important source of iron for haemoglobin formation in the first few months of life since the iron content of milk is low. Until recently it has been difficult to assess the influence of maternal iron stores on the iron status of the newborn infant. The introduction of the serum ferritin assay (Addison et al., 1972) has provided a simple, sensitive guide of body iron stores. The purpose of the present study was to determine the relation of serum ferritin of mothers at the time of delivery, and the corresponding cord blood. Patients and methodsFifty-one pregnant women (age range 17-38 years; each had 1-6 pregnancies) attending the Obstetric Clinic at Hull Maternity Hospital contributed in this study. All of them had a term normal pregnancy and normal delivery. Their babies were all term and of normal weight. All of the mothers had received one tablet of Ferrograd-folic per day (ferrous sulphate BP 325 mg and 350 ,ug folic acid BP) since early pregnancy.When the mothers were admitted for delivery, blood samples were obtained from them for determination of Hb, serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), and serum ferritin. Similar tests were done on cord blood samples.The method used for serum iron and TIBC was that recommended by the International Committee for Standardization in Hematology (1971). Normal range for serum iron is 75-130 ,ug/100 ml (13-4-23-3 ,umol/l), and for TIBC 270-390 Vg/100 ml

SummaryThe aggregation of platelets collected from maternal/neonatal pairs (n = 240) at the time of childbirth, was studied in response to multiple doses of ADP, collagen, arachidonic acid and ristocetin. Similar responses were obtained from healthy nonpregnant adult controls for comparison. The lag phase, slope of the aggregation curves as well as maximum aggregation (MA%) were recorded and analysed. Neonatal and adult platelets exhibited more enhanced responses to decreasing doses of ADP, arachidonic acid and ristocetin, than maternal platelets. These enhanced responses were exhibited more consistantly in the slopes of the aggregation curves than in MA%. Although neonatal platelets have shown longer lag phase in their responses to collagen, the rate of the aggregation reaction was significantly faster than maternal platelets, with no differences in MA%. These results contradict many previous reports suggesting impaired aggregation responses of neonatal platelets to these agonist. The possible reasons for these contradictions were discussed.

In countries with limited resources and yet large number of CGD patients, the analysis of the defective proteins by flow cytometry is an optimum solution for confirming the diagnosis and is a step for targeted sequencing in families seeking prenatal diagnosis.

Cytokines in follicular fluid (FF) are important for reproduction as they modulate oocyte maturation and ovulation which influence subsequent fertilization, development of early embryo and potential for implantation. We evaluated FF cytokines in women who underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and their association with fertilized oocytes, embryo quality and pregnancy outcome. FF belonging to 38 patients including 18 polycystic ovary (PCO) and 20 male/unexplained infertility patients were investigated for granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and presumably secreted (RANTES), tumour necrosis factor (TNFα), interferon gamma (IFNγ) and interleukins (IL-4 and IL-2) by bead-based sandwich immunoassay. Our findings revealed that on the day of oocyte retrieval, G-CSF was positively correlated with the number of fertilized oocytes, while TNFα detection was associated with reduced number of fertilized oocytes. Only G-CSF showed significant positive effect to the pregnancy outcome although the cytokines studied were not associated with embryo quality. PCO as the cause of infertility did not show an association with cytokines in FF. The functions of cytokines in reproduction are likely to be complex, and cytokine evaluation may offer insight to the understanding of the mechanisms leading to success or failure of assisted reproduction.

Schoolchildren (7-8 years old) infected with Schistosoma haematobium were tested for lymphocyte proliferative responses, in vitro granuloma formation (IVGF), and cytokine release in T-cell Western assays and for serum antibody reactivity by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblotting against S. haematobium soluble adult-worm (SAWA) and egg (SEA) antigens. The lymphoproliferative response rate of individual subjects against 10 SAWA and 15 SEA electroseparated bands ranged from 0 to 33% and from 11 to 66%, respectively. The SAWA bands essentially failed to elicit significant IVGF, in contrast to the SEA bands, all of which were capable of inducing IVGF from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 30-80% of individual donors. The exclusive ability of SEA bands to induce IVGF could not be attributed to selective release of interleukin 2 (IL-2), IL-4, or interferon-gamma, as SEA and SAWA bands were capable of eliciting release of a similar array of cytokines in supernatants of 4-day PBMC cultures. The antibody response to SEA was stronger than that to SAWA, yet the proportion of SAWA bands binding humoral antibodies of individual donors was significantly larger than that observed for SEA. The study thus suggests that humans with early-stage S. haematobium infection respond poorly to SAWA but mount strong cellular immune responses to SEA that result in granuloma and antibody formation.

Postulated Stem/progenitor cells involved in endometrium regeneration are epithelial, mesenchymal, and endothelial. Bone marrow (BM) has been implicated in endometrial stem cells. We aimed at studying gene expression profiling of endometrial mesenchymal stem cells compared to BM MSCS to better understand their nature and functional phenotype. Endometrial tissues were obtained from premenopausal hysterectomies (n = 3), minced and enzymatically digested as well as Normal BM aspirates (n=3). Immunophenotyping, differentiation to mesoderm, and proliferation were studied. The expression profile of 84 genes relevant to mesenchymal stem cells was performed. Fold change calculations were determined with SA Biosciences data analysis software. VEGF, G-CSF, and GM-CSF in cultures supernatants of MSCs were assayed by Luminex immunoassay. Endo MSCs possess properties similar to BM MSCs. Cumulative population doubling was significantly higher in Endo MSCs compared to BM MSCs (p < 0.001). 52 core genes were shared between both generated MSCs including stemness, self-renewal, members of the Notch, TGFB, FGF, and WNT.16 downregulated genes (VCAM, IGF1)and 16 upregulated in Endo MSCs compared to BM (p < 0.05 → fourfolds). They included mostly cytokine and growth factor genes G-CSF, GM-CSF, VWF, IL1b, GDF15, and KDR. VEGF and G-CSF levels were higher in Endo MSCs supernatants (p < 0.0001). Cells sharing MSC and endothelial cell characteristics could be isolated from the human endometrium. Endo MSCs share a core genetic profile with BM MSCs including stemness. They show upregulation of genes involved in vasculogenesis, angiogenesis, cell adhesion, growth proliferation, migration, and differentiation of endothelial cells, all contributing to endometrial function.

Adult peripheral blood contains a limited number of endothelial progenitor cells that can be isolated for treatment of ischemic diseases. The adipose tissue became an interesting source of stem cells for regenerative medicine. This study aimed to investigate the phenotype of cells obtained by culturing adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ad-MSCs) in the presence of endothelial growth supplements compared to endothelial cells obtained from umbilical cord blood (UCB). Passage 3 ad-MSCs and mononuclear layer from UCB were cultured in presence of endothelial growth media for 3 weeks followed by their characterization by flow cytometry and polymerase chain reaction. After culture in endothelial inductive media, ad-MSCs expressed endothelial genes and some endothelial marker proteins as CD31 and CD34, respectively. Adipose tissue could be a reliable source for easy obtaining, expanding and differentiating MSCs into endothelial-like cells for autologous cell-based therapy.

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