ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the mRNA expression of chemokine receptors in human villi and trophoblasts of first trimester gestation . Methods: The authors first obtained villous tissues from fifteen women who had undergone selective termination at 5 - 10 weeks of normal gestation. Total RNA was then extracted, using the TRIzol reagent, from villous tissues or Percoll-gradient purified trophoblasts. Consequently, the expressions of chemokine receptors in villous tissues and trophoblasts were investigated by way of semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction.Results: The chemokine receptors, CXCR4 and CXCR6, were highly expressed in each villous tissue, while the CCR6, CCR7, XCR1 and CX3CR1 were moderately expressed in villi. The chemokine receptors, CCR1- CCR5, CCR8 - CCR10, CXCR1 -CXCR3, were expressed only in some villous samples, while no CXCR5 mRNA was found in any villous tissue. The authors also found that the freshly isolated and Percoll-purified trophoblasts expressed CCR1, CCR3 - CCR5, CCR8 - CCR9, CXCR1 - CXCR4, CXCR6, XCR1 and CX3CR1 mRNA. Conclusion: A variety of chemokine receptors were expressed in villous tissues and trophoblasts of human first trimester gestation, hence, these receptors may play an important biological role at the materno-fetal interface in normal human pregnancy.