Abstract
Following blastocyst implantation, the outer layer of human trophoblast rapidly proliferates and several anatomically distinct populations of trophoblast develop in the placenta and extraembryonic membranes as gestation progresses (Hertig et al., 1954; Boyd and Hamilton, 1970; Bulmer and Johnson, 1985). The major trophoblast population covers chorionic villi (or conversely lines intervillous spaces) and is therefore in intimate contact with maternal blood. This villous trophoblast layer is organized into an inner cytotrophoblast and an outer syncytiotrophoblast layer with numerous microvilli on the maternal-facing surface. Also of relevance to this review is extravillous cytotrophoblast which proliferates into maternal uterine tissue from the implantation site. Since high purity preparations of syncytiotrophoblast surface microvillous plasma membrance (StMPM) can be readily obtained from term placentae (Smith et al., 1974; Ogbimi et al., 1979), the majority of biochemical and immunological studies have centered on syncytiotrophoblast.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Adamson, E.D., Meek, J., and Edwards, S.A. (1985) Product of the cellular oncogene, c-fos, observed in mouse and human tissues using an antibody to a synthetic peptide. EMBO. J. 4, 941–947.
Anderson, D.J. and Berkowitz, R.S. (1985) Gamma-interferon enhances expression of class I MHC antigens in the weakly HLA-positive human choriocarcinoma cell line BeWo but does not induce MHC expression in the HLA-negative choriocarcinoma cell line JAr. J. Immunol. 135, 2498–2501.
Andrews, P.W., Damjanov, I., Simon, D., Banting, G.S., Carliu, C., Dracopoli, N.C., and Fogh, J. (1984) Pluripotent embryonal carcinoma clones derived from the human teratocarcinoma cell line Tera2. Lab. Invest. 50, 147–162.
Aspinall, R. and Stern, P.L. (1985) Analysis of the xenogeneic T-cell response to murine H-2 negative embryonal carcinoma cells. Immunol. 54, 549–557.
Avruch, J., Nemenoff, R.A., Blackshear, P.J., Pierce, M.W., and Osathanondh, R. (1982) Insulin-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor in detergent extracts of human placental membranes. J. Biol. Chem. 257, 1516215166.
Bell, S.M. and Stern, P.L. (1985) Rat natural killer cells and cytotoxic T cell lysis of H- 2 negative murine embryonal carcinomal cells. Eur. J. Immunol. 15, 59–65.
Berridge, M.J. (1984) Inositol trisphosphate and diacylglycerol as second messengers. Biochem. J. 220, 345–360.
Boyd, J.D. and Hamilton, W.J. (1970) The Human Placenta. W. Heffer and Sons Ltd., Cambridge.
Bulmer, J.N., Billington, W.D., and Johnson, P.M. (1984) Immunohistologic identification of trophoblast populations in early human pregnancy with the use of monoclonal antibodies. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 148, 19–26.
Bulmer, J.N. and Johnson, P.M. (1985) Antigen expression by trophoblast populations in the human placenta and their possible immunobiological relevance. Placenta 6, 127–140.
Carson, S.A., Chase, R., Wep, E., Scommegna, A., and Benveniste, R. (1983) Ontogenesis and characteristics of epidermal growth factor receptors in human placenta. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 147, 932–939.
Cheng, H.M. and Johnson, P.M. (1985) A description of human placental syncytiotrophoblast membrane glycosphinoglipids. Placenta 6, 229–238.
Cohen, P. (1982) The role of protein phosphorylation in neural and hormonal control of cellular activity. Nature 296, 613–620.
Covone, A.E., Mutton, D., Johnson, P.M., and Adinolfi, M. (1984) Trophoblast cells in peripheral blood from pregnant women. Lancet ii, 841–843.
Critchley, M., Brownless, S., Patten, M., McLaughlin, P.J., Tromans, P.M., and Johnson, P.M. (1986) Radionuclide imaging of epithelial ovarian tumours with ’231-labelled monoclonal antibody (H317). Clin. Radiol. 37, 107–112.
Earl, U., Wells, M., and Bulmer, J.N. (1985) The expression of major histocompatibility complex antigens by trophoblast in ectopic tubal pregnancy. J. Reprod. Immunol. 8, 13–24.
Ebina, Y., Ellis, L., Jarnagin, K., Edery, M., Graf, L., Clauser, E., Ou, J.H., Masiarz, F., Kan, Y.W., Goldfine, I.D., Roth, R.A., and Rutter, W.J. (1985) The human insulin receptor cDNA: the structural basis for hormone-activated transmembrane signalling. Cell 40, 747–758.
Epenetos, A.A., Munro, A.J., Tucker, D.F., Gregory, W., Duncan, W., MacDougall, R.H., Faux, M., Travers, P., and Bodmer, W.F. (1985a) Monoclonal antibody assay of serum placental alkaline phosphatase in the monitoring of testicular tumours. Br. J. Can. 51, 641–644.
Epenetos, A.A., Snook, D., Hooker, G., Begent, R., Durbin, H., Oliver, R.T.D., Bodmer, W.F., and Lavender, J.P. (1985b) Indium-111 labelled monoclonal antibody to placental aklaline phosphatase in the detection of neoplasms of testis, ovary, and cervix. Lancet ii, 350–353.
Ezra, E., Blacher, R., and Udenfriend, S. (1983) Purification and partial sequencing of human placental alkaline phosphatase. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 116, 1076–1083.
Fishman, W.H. (1974) Perspectives on alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes. Am. J. Med. 56, 617–650.
Goustin, A.T., Betsholtz, C., Pfeifer-Ohlsson, S., Persson, H., Rydnert, J., Bywater, M., Homgren, G., Heldin, C.-H., Westermark, B., and Ohlsson, R. (1985) Co-expression of the sis and myc proto-oncogenes in developing human placenta suggests autocrine control of trophoblast growth. Cell 41, 301–312.
Hakomori, S.-I. (1985) Abberrant glycosylation in cancer cell membranes as focused on glycolipids. Overview and perspectives. Cancer Res. 45, 2405–2414.
Hertig, A.T., Rock, J., and Adams, E.C. (1956) A description of 34 human ova within the first 17 days of development. Am. J. Anat. 98, 435–494.
Hsi, B.-L., Yeh, C.J.-G., and Faulk, W.P. (1984) Class I antigens of the major histocompatibility complex on cytotrophoblast of the human chorion laeve. Immunol. 52, 621–629.
Hunter, T. (1984) The epidermal growth factor receptor gene and its product. Nature 311, 414–415.
Johnson, P.M. (1984) Immunobiology of the human trophoblast. In: Immunological Aspects of Reproduction. in Mammals, (ed.), D.B Crighton, Butterworth Press, London, pp. 109–131.
Johnson, P.M. and Brown, P.J. (1981) Fc y receptors in the human placenta. Placenta 2, 355–370.
Johnson, P.M., Brown, P.J., and Faulk, W.P. (1980) Immunobiological aspects of the human placenta. In: Oxford Reviews of Reproductive Biology, vol. 2 (ed.), C.A. Finn, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 1–40.
Kabawat, S.E., Moustafi-Zadeh, M., Driscoll, S.G., and Bhan, A.K. (1985) Implantation site in normal pregnancy: A study with monoclonal antibodies. Am. J. Pathol. 118, 76–84.
Kalter, S.S. (1983) Viral expression in the trophoblast. In: Biology of Trophoblast, (eds.), Y.W. Loke and A. Whyte, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 627–662.
Kawata, M., Parnes, J.R., and Herzenberg, L.A. (1984) Transcriptional control of HLA-A,B,C antigens in human placental cytotrophoblast isolated using trophoblast and H LA-specific monoclonal antibodies and the fluorescence-activated cell sorter. J. Exp. Med. 160, 633–651.
Klareskog, L., Forsum, U., and Peterson, P.A. (1980) Hormonal regulation of the expression of la antigens on mammary gland epithelium. Eur. J. Immunol. 10, 958–963.
Low, M.G. and Zilversmit, D.B. (1980) Role of phosphatidylinositol in attachment of alkaline phosphatase to membranes. Biochem. 19, 3913–3918.
McDicken, I.W., McLaughlin, P.J., Tromans, P.M., Luesley, D.M., and Johnson, P.M. (1985) Detection of placental-type alkaline phosphatase in ovarian cancer. Br. J. Cancer 52, 59–64.
McIntyre, J.A. and Faulk, W.P. (1979) Antigens of human trophoblast. J. Exp. Med. 149, 824–833.
McIntyre, J.A. and Faulk, W.P. (1982) Allotypic trophoblast-lymphocyte cross reactive (TLX) cell surface antigens. Human Immunol. 4, 27–35.
McLaughlin, P.J., Cheng, H.M., Slade, M.B., and Johnson, P.M. (1982) Expression on cultured human tumour cells of placental trophoblast membrane antigens and placental alkaline phosphatase defined by monoclonal antibodies. Int. J. Cancer 30, 21–26.
McLaughlin, P.J., Travers, P.J., McDicken, I.W., and Johnson, P.M. (1984) Demonstration of placental and placental-like alkaline phosphatases on nonmalignant human extracts using monoclonal antibodies in enzyme immunoassay. Clin. Chim. Acta 137, 341–348.
Maeda, S., Yonezawa, K., and Yachi, A. (1985) Serum antibody reacting with placental syncytiotrophoblast in sera of patients with autoimmune diseases–a possible relation to type C RNA retrovirus. Clin. Exp. Immunol. 60, 645–653.
Magid, M., Nanney, L.B., Stoscheck, C.M., and King, L.E. (1985) Epidermal growth factor binding and receptor distributions in term human placenta. Placenta 6, 519–526.
Muller, R., Tremblay, J.M., Adamson, E.D., and Verma, I.M. (1983) Tissue and cell type-specific expression of two human c-onc genes. Nature 304, 454–456.
Nelson, D.M., Enders, A.C., and King, B.F. (1978) Cytological events involved in glycoprotein synthesis in cellular and syncytial trophoblast of human placenta. An electron microscope autoradiographic study of [3-H] galactose incorporation. J. Cell. Biol. 76, 418–429.
Nishizuka, Y. (1984) The role of protein kinase C in cell surface signal transduction and tumour promotion. Nature 308, 693–698.
Ogbimi, A.O. and Johnson, P.M. (1980) Further immunological and chemical characterization of human syncytiotrophoblast microvillous plasma membrane-associated components. J. Reprod. Immunol. 2, 99–108.
Ogbimi, A.O., Johnson, P.M., Brown, P.J., and Fox, H. (1979) Characterisation of the soluble fraction of human syncytiotrophoblast microvillous plasma membrane-associated proteins. J. Reprod. Immunol. 1, 127–140.
Pfeifer-Ohlsson, S., Goustin, A.S., Rydnert, J., Bjersing, L., Wahlstrom, T., Stehlin, D., and Ohlsson, R. (1984) Spatial and temporal pattern of cellular myc oncogene expression in developing human placenta: Implications for embryonic cell proliferation. Cell 38, 585–596.
Rao, C.V., Ramani, N., Chegini, N., Stadig, B.K., Carman, F.R., Woost, P.G., Schultz, G.S., and Cook, C.L. (1985) Topography of human placental receptors for epidermal growth factor. J. Biol. Chem. 260, 1705–1710.
Redman, C.W.G., McMichael, A.J., Stirrat, G.M., Sunderland, C.A., and Ting, A. (1984) Class I MHC antigens on extravillous trophoblast. Immunol. 52, 457468.
Renzo, G.C.D., Johnston, J.M., Okazaki, T., Okita, J.R., MacDonald, P.C., and Bleasdale, J.C. (1981) Phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C in fetal membranes and uterine decidua. J. Clin. Invest. 67, 847–856.
Rettig, W.J., Cordon-Carlo, C., Koulos, J.P., Lewis, J.L., Oettgen, H.F., and Old, L.J. (1985) Cell surface antigens of human trophoblast and choriocarcinoma defined by monoclonal antibodies. Int. J. Cancer 35, 469–475.
Richards, R.C., Beardmore, J.M., Brown, P.J., Molloy, C.M., and Johnson, P.M. (1983) Epidermal growth factor receptors on isolated human placental syncytiotrophoblast plasma membrane. Placenta 4, 133–138.
Risk, J.M. and Johnson, P.M. (1985) Antigen expression by human trophoblast and tumor cells: models for gene regulation? In: Contributions in Gynecology and Obstetrics,S. Karger, AG, Basel, in press.
Rosa, F. and Fellous, M. (1984) The effect of gamma-interferon on MHC antigens. Immunol. Today 5, 261–262.
Sakiyama, T., Robinson, J.C., and Chou, J.Y. (1979) Characterization of alkaline phosphatases from first-trimester human placentae. J. Biol. Chem. 254, 935938.
Scott, I.V., Bardsley, W.G., Gregory, H., and Tindall, V.R. (1979) Human placental diamine oxidase concentration and urogastrone: a possible role in polyamine metabolism and fetal growth. In: Proceedings of the 8th International
Symposium on Clinical Enzymology,(eds.), A. Berlina and L. Galzingera, Piccini Medical Books, Padua and London, pp. 563–578.
Sherr, C.J., Rettenmier, C.W., Sacca, R., Roussel, M.R., Look, A.T., and Stanley, E.R. (1985) The c-fms proto-oncogene product is related to the receptor for the mononuclear phagocyte growth factor, CSF-1. Cell 41, 665–676.
Shukla, S.D. (1982) Phosphatidylinosiotol specific phospholipase C. Life Sci. 18, 1323–1335.
Smith, N.C., Brush, M.G., and Luckett, S. (1974) Preparation of human placental villous surface membranes. Nature 252, 302–393.
Snyder, D.S., Beller, D.I. and Unanue, E.R. (1982) Prostaglandins modulate macrophage la expression. Nature 299, 163–165.
Stern, P.L. (1983) Serological and cell-mediated immune recognition of teratocarcinomas. In: Current Problems in Germ Cell Differentiation, (eds.), A. McLaren and C.C. Wylie, Cambridge University Press, pp. 157–173.
Stern, P.L. (1984) Differentiation antigens of embryonal carcinoma cells and embryos. Brit. Med. Bull. 40, 218–223.
Stern, P.L., Beresford, N., Thompson, S., Johnson, P.M., Webb, P.D. and Mole, N. (1986) Characterization of the human trophoblast-leukocyte antigenic molecules defined in a monoclonal antibody. J. Immunol.,in press.
Strachan, T., Sodoyer, R., Damotte, M., and Jordan, B.R. (1984) Complete nucleotide sequence of a functional class I HLA gene, HLA-A3: Implications for the evolution of HLA genes. EMBO. J. 3, 887–894.
Sunderland, C.A., Redman, C.W.G., and Stirrat, G.M. (1985) Characterization and localization of HLA antigens on hydatidiform mole. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 151, 130–135.
Suni, J., Narvaren, A., Wahlstrom, T., Aho, M., Pakkanen, R., Vaheri, A., Copeland, T., Cohen, M., and Oroszlan, S. (1984a) Human placental syncytiotrophoblast Mr 75,000 polypeptide defined by antibodies to a synthetic peptide based on a cloned human endogenous retroviral DNA sequence. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA,81,.6197–6201.
Suni, J., Narvanen, A., Wahlstrom, T., Lehtovirta, P., and Vaheri, A. (1984b) Monoclonal antibody to human T-cell leukemia virus p19 defines polypeptide antigen in human choriocarcinoma cells and syncytiotrophoblast of first trimester placentas. Int. J. Cancer 33, 293–298.
Suni, J., Wahlstrom, T., and Vaheri, A. (1981) Retrovirus p30-related antigen in human syncytiotrophobalst and IgG antibodies in cord sera. Int. J. Cancer 28, 559–566.
Swarup, G., Cohen, S., and Garberg, D.L. (1981) Selective dephosphorylation of proteins containing phosphotyrosine by alkaline phosphatase. J. Biol. Chem. 256, 8197–8201.
Thiry, L., Loke, Y.W., Hard, R.C., Sprecher-Goldberger, S., and Buekens, P. (1981) Heterologous antiserum to human syncytiotrophoblast membrane is cytotoxic to retrovirus-producing cells and to some cancer cell lines. Am. J. Reprod. Immunol. 1, 241–245.
Thompson, S., Stern, P.L., Webb, M., Walsh, F.S., Engstrom, W., Evans, E.P., Shi, W.-K., Hopkins, B., and Graham, C.F. (1984) Differentiation of neuron-like cells and other cell types from cloned human teratoma cells cultured in retinoic acid. J. Cell Sci. 72, 37–64.
Truman, P., and Ford, H.C. (1984) The brush border of the human term placenta. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 779, 139–160.
Wahlstrom, T., Nieminen, P., Narvanen, A., Suni, J., Lehtoviria, P., Saskela, A., and Vaheri, A. (1984) Monoclonal antibody defining a human syncytiotrophoblast polypeptide immunologically related to mammalian retrovirus structural protein p30. Placenta 5, 465–474.
Watts, C. (1985) In situ 125I-labelling of endosome proteins with lactoperoxidase conjugates. EMBO. J. 3, 1965–1970.
Webb, P.D., Evans, P.W., Molloy, C.M., and Johnson, P.M. (1985) Biochemical studies of human placental microvillous plasma membrane proteins. Am. J. Reprod. Immunol. Microbiol. 8, 113–119.
Webb, P.D., McLaughlin, P.J., Risk, J.M., and Johnson, P.M. (1986) Isolation of placental-type alkaline phosphatase associated with human syncytiotrophoblast membranes using monoclonal antibodies. Placenta,in press.
Wells, M., Hsi, B.-L., and Faulk, W.P. (1984) The expression of class I antigens of the major histocompatibility complex on the cytotrophoblast shell cells of the placental basal plate. Am. J. Reprod. Immunol. 6, 167–174.
Whyte, A. (1983) Biochemistry of the human syncytiotrophoblast plasma membrane. In: Biology of Trophoblast, (eds.), Y.W. Loke and A. Whyte, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 513–529.
Wild, A.E. (1983) Trophoblast cell surface receptors. In: Biology of Trophoblast, (eds.), Y.W. Loke and A. Whyte, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 472–505.
Winoto, A., Steinmetz, M., and Hood, L. (1983) Genetic mapping in the major histocompatbility complex by restriction enzyme polymorphisms. Most mouse class I genes map to the Tla complex. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA, 80, 3425-3429.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1987 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Webb, P.D., Hole, N., McLaughlin, P.J., Stern, P.L., Johnson, P.M. (1987). Biochemical and Immunological Aspects of the Human Trophoblast Cell Surface. In: Miller, R.K., Thiede, H.A. (eds) Cellular Biology and Pharmacology of the Placenta. Trophoblast Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1936-9_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1936-9_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-1938-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-1936-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive