| First Author | Erlich J | Year | 1999 |
| Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | Volume | 96 |
| Issue | 14 | Pages | 8138-43 |
| PubMed ID | 10393961 | Mgi Jnum | J:56355 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1340837 | Doi | 10.1073/pnas.96.14.8138 |
| Citation | Erlich J, et al. (1999) Tissue factor is required for uterine hemostasis and maintenance of the placental labyrinth during gestation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96(14):8138-43 |
| abstractText | We employed a novel mouse line that expresses low levels of human tissue factor (TF) in the absence of murine TF to analyze the role of TF in gestation. Low-TF female mice had a 14-18% incidence of fatal postpartum uterine hemorrhage, suggesting that TF plays an important role in uterine hemostasis. Low-TF female mice mated with low-TF male mice had a 42% incidence of fatal midgestational hemorrhage (n = 41), whereas no fatal midgestational hemorrhages were observed in low-TF female mice mated with wild-type male mice (n = 43). Placentas of low-TF embryos from both low-TF and normal (+/-) TF females were abnormal and contained numerous maternal blood pools in the labyrinth. Placentas of TF null embryos surviving beyond embryonic day 10.5 exhibited similar defects. The mouse maternal-embryonic placental barrier consists of four cellular layers (layers I, II, and III and endothelial cells), where layer I lines the maternal lacunae. Comparison of TF-deficient placentas with control placentas by immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analyses revealed thinning of layer I and a reduction in the number of cellular contacts of layer I trophoblasts spanning the maternal blood space between adjacent trabeculae. These structural changes in low-TF and TF null placentas result in enlarged maternal lacunae, as determined by morphometric analysis, and placental hemorrhage, which leads to midgestational death of low-TF female mice. This study demonstrated that TF is required for uterine hemostasis and revealed an unexpected role of TF in the maintenance of the placental labyrinth. |
