title: Production of human mast cell chymase in human myometrium and placenta in cases of normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether the human mast cell chymase-endothelin-1(1-31) system was present in human myometrium, chorion and umbilical cord in normal pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Myometrium, placenta and umbilical cord were obtained from five normal pregnant women and 10 with preeclampsia. Each tissue was stained with antibodies against hMC and ET-1(1-31).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Routine cells were located mainly around vessels. The number of hMC-positive cells and production of ET-1(1-31) were significantly higher in myometrium from patients with severe preeclampsia compared to those from normal pregnant women. In contrast, their numbers were significantly lower in placenta and umbilical cord in patients with severe preeclampsia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that the hMC-ET-1(1-31) system is active in normal pregnancy. Overproduction of hMC and ET-1(1-31) in the myometrium may be involved in the pathogenesis of severe preeclampsia, and in such cases some defense mechanism may operate in the fetus to cope with the pathological effect of the hMC-ET-1(1-31) system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, The University of Tokushima, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, 770-8503, Tokushima, Japan. mitani@clin.med.tokushima-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Ryuji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mitani
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Rijin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fukui
authors.forename: Satoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: Yoshika
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saijo
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shinohara
authors.forename: Masaharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamada
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Irahara
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamano
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakaya
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aono
mesh_terms: D053818:Chymases; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000201:enzymology; D009215:Myometrium / Q000201:enzymology*; D010920:Placenta / Q000201:enzymology*; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000201:enzymology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012016:Reference Values; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019332:Endothelin-1; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D053818:Chymases