Exquisitely regulated cytokine balance during early pregnancy is thought to be necessary for promoting survival of the fetal allograft. Our previous studies have demonstrated that membrane-bound human leukocyte antigen (mHLA-G) expressed on trophoblasts is one of the key factors in regulating cytokine balance by shifting the Th1/Th2 balance toward Th2 polarization, a favourable milieu for the maintenance of pregnancy. Given that trophoblasts secrete soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G), we examined its biological roles in comparison with mHLA-G. We cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with either the HLA-A and -B-deficient B lymphoblast cell line (721.221 cells) or the same cell line transfected with mHLA-G (721.221-G1 cells), in the presence or absence of recombinant sHLA-G. Cytokine concentrations in the culture media were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In contrast to mHLA-G protein, sHLA-G stimulated the release of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interferon (IFN)-gamma, whereas it reduced the release of interleukin (IL)-3, regardless of the presence of the presence of a stimulatory effect of the mHLA-G-expressing cells. Although mHLA-G reduced the release of IL-4, sHLA-G did not have any effect. Conversely, sHLA-G stimulated the release of IL-10 whereas mHLA-G was without effect. These results suggest that sHLA-G regulates the release of cytokines from PBMC chiefly by counterbalancing mHLA-G, and thereby may play a role in maintaining pregnancy.

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Objective: Our aim was to investigate the association between fetal growth and cerebrovascular resistance in fetuses with congenital heart disease (CHD). Methods: Fetal echocardiography was performed to measure the biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference, femur length, estimated fetal body weight, middle cerebral artery (MCA) resistance index (RI) and umbilical artery (UA) RI in 44 fetuses with CHD and 140 normal fetuses at a gestational age of 28–34 weeks. Results: Fetuses with CHD exhibited significantly lower values for femur length, estimated fetal body weight at the third trimester, body weight, length, and chest circumference at birth than normal controls. The percentages of fetuses showing MCA RI values <10th percentile and UA RI values >90th percentile were significantly higher in the CHD group than in the control group. However, there were no significant differences in any biometric parameters measured between cases with MCA RI values ≧10th percentile and values <10th percentile. Conclusions: Growth restriction and blood flow changes were observed significantly more frequently in fetuses with CHD than in those without CHD. Further studies are necessary to clarify the association between fetal growth and dynamic changes in fetal circulation.

Much attention has been focused on utilization of polyethylene oxide) (PEO) for biological and biomedical fields. These applications include cell fusion for hybridoma production (2), protein modification for decreased antigenicity (2) or for suppression of reaginic antibody response (3), drug targeting (4,5), and controlled drug release (6).

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