PROBLEM In this study, we explored the relationship between decidual cells (DC) and interferon (IFN)-γ, in the presence or absence of ectoplacental cone (EC) using a coculture system. METHOD OF STUDY  Decidual cells and EC were isolated from pregnant mice on gestation day 7.5. DCs were cultured for 48 hr and then treated with fresh EC. After characterization, they were treated with IFN-γ, and cell death was evaluated. RESULTS  Interferon-γ drastically increased decidual apoptosis, which was partially reverted by the addition of EC to the IFN-γ-treated decidual culture. Moreover, the addition of EC to non-treated DC cultures was also capable of attenuating death rates. CONCLUSION Resistance to apoptosis may be induced in DC by the EC. This suggests that EC may participate in the inhibition of IFN-γ-dependent apoptosis and, therefore, play important role for DC survival in a cytokine-enriched placental environment.

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Anatomical variations in the hepatic arteries and in the celiac trunk are important in liver transplants, laparoscopic surgeries, abdominal radiological interventions, and perforating injuries in the abdomen. The goal of the present report is to describe an abdominal vascular variation observed during a routine dissection in the Anatomy Laboratory of the Centro Universitário São Camilo, São Paulo, state of São Paulo, Brazil, in a male individual. The superior mesenteric artery had its origin in the celiac trunk and originated a right accessory hepatic artery that followed its path all the way to the liver. Several authors described variations in the origin and in the path of the hepatic artery and even created specific classifications. The advance of imaging methods that increase the number of studied individuals, without the need of dissection, aids exponentially the quantifying studies that seek to determine a pattern in the variations present in certain populations. The variations of the hepatic artery, as well as of the celiac trunk, have been extensively described in the literature; however, there is no pattern in the number of variations found both in the celiac trunk and in the regular hepatic artery, what leads to a need of description in each case found.

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