title: Role of placental alkaline phosphatase in the interaction between human placental trophoblast and Trypanosoma cruzi.
abstract: Congenital Chagas disease, due to the intracellular parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is associated with premature labor, miscarriage, and placentitis. Human enzyme placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) (EC 3.1.3.1.) is membrane-anchored through glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI). PLAP is present in plasma in late pregnancy, 36 to 40 weeks; there are lower levels in maternal Chagas disease. Infants born to such mothers may have congenital Chagas disease. Human placental villi (PV) were treated with phospholipase-C (PL-C) and then cultured with T. cruzi to determine the effect of the parasites on PLAP activity as an in vitro model. There is less PLAP activity after treatment by PL-C and during culture with T. cruzi. Pretreatment of PV with PL-C before culture with T. cruzi yielded essentially normal specific activity of PLAP and prevented or greatly reduced infective penetration of villi by parasites. The results are consistent with a pathogenetic role for placental alkaline phosphatase in congenital Chagas disease. Receptor activation of membrane attachment to PLAP may be a device used by T. cruzi to enable parasite invasion of human trophoblast.
authors.affiliation: Ila. Cátedra de Histología, Embriología y Genética, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina. msartori@cmefcm.uncor.edu
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sartori
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Malchiodi
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: de Fabro
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000151:congenital* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000503:physiopathology; D046508:Culture Techniques; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010920:Placenta / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000469:parasitology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000502:physiology*; D010738:Type C Phospholipases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; C055791:germ-cell AP isoenzyme; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D010738:Type C Phospholipases