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IMMUNOFLUORESCENT STUDIES OF THE UTEROPLACENTAL ARTERIES IN NORMAL PREGNANCY
Article first published online: 23 AUG 2005
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Volume 88, Issue 3, pages 301–307, March 1981
How to Cite
Weir, P. E. (1981), IMMUNOFLUORESCENT STUDIES OF THE UTEROPLACENTAL ARTERIES IN NORMAL PREGNANCY. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 88: 301–307. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1981.tb00985.x
- Issue published online: 23 AUG 2005
- Article first published online: 23 AUG 2005
- Received November 13, 1979/Accepted July 28, 1980
Immunofluorescent studies were performed on placental bed biopsies from 27 normal pregnancies. Uteroplacental arteries were present in 26 of the 27 biopsies and all showed deposition of fibrin in relation to the fibrinoid layer within the vessel wall; 12 also showed deposition of C3. Interstitial fibrinoid deposits also stained positively with fibrin. There was no deposition of immunoglobulins within the arterial changes nor in association with intramural or interstitial trophoblast. This study indicates that fibrin is a significant contributor to the fibrinoid layer within the Uteroplacental arteries, and suggests that the presence of bound C3 is due to the activation of the complement system by fibrinogenesis. There was no evidence that the humoral immune response was involved in the aetiology of the physiological changes in the Uteroplacental arteries.