Reproductive system physiology

Placenta
By
Hossein Khorrami Ph.D.
http://khorrami1962.spaces.live.com
khorrami4@yahoo.com
 Estrogens
 Estrone (E1)
 Estradiol (E2)
 Estriol (E3)
 Estetrol (E4)
 Estrogen
 100mg/day before pregnancy
 300mg/day in late pregnancy
 85-90% is related to estriol(E3) or its conjugate
 Fetoplacental-maternal unit

Adrenal Liver

acetate
fetus 16-a-DHA-S E4
DHA-S
sulfatase
DHA 16-a-DHA
placenta Isomerase

E1 E2 E3

DHA-S E3-G
Mother

urine
E4: Estetrol
 Progesterone
 At term 250mg/day
 Excreted as Pregnandiol
 End of first trimester: 10mg/day
 At term: 40mg/day

 Maternal cholesterol
 In syncytiotrophoblast: preg…..progesteron
 Most passes to fetal circulation
 Fetal adrenal……corticosteroid sulphate
 Remainder to maternal circulation
 HCG
 Found in urine of pregnant women (1927)
 Detectable in maternal plasma 7-10 days after
implantation
 Doubling each 48hrs
 Peak at 8-10th week

 Synthesized by:
 More by syncytiotrophoblast
 Less by cytotrophoblast
 HCG
 a subunit:
 92 AA common with LH
 by single gene (ch.6)
 In cyto and syncytiotrophoblast cells

 b subunit:
 134 AA
 By 7 genes ( ch.19)
 In cytotrophoblast cells
 Placenta
 Lack of MHC-I and MHC-II in trophoblast
cells
 Presence of Fas-ligand in placenta
 Apoptosis of activated T cells