title: Fractalkine (FRK) levels in amniotic fluid and its production during pregnancy.
abstract: Fractalkine is a new CX(3)C chemokine that has chemoattractant activity for T cells, monocytes and natural killer (NK) cells. Western blot analysis revealed that fractalkine protein was detected as a 95 kDa band in both the amniotic fluid and the amnion during the second and third trimesters. Immunohistochemistry using an anti-fractalkine polyclonal antibody revealed positive staining of epithelial cells in amnion and trophoblasts in both the second and third trimesters. Neonatal urine also contained detectable amounts of fractalkine. RT-PCR detected fractalkine mRNA transcripts in the amnion. To determine whether fractalkine receptor (CX(3)CR1)-positive cells were present in amniotic fluid and amnion, we performed RT-PCR using specific primers for CX(3)CR1. CX(3)CR1-positive cells had migrated into the amniotic fluid and the amnion. The present findings suggest that fractalkine found in amniotic fluid may contribute to the immunodefence mechanism during pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamada-oka, Suita City, Japan. shimoya@gyne.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Koichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimoya
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tenma
authors.forename: Yukinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.forename: Kazumasa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Yoshie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shizusawa
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Masayasu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murata
mesh_terms: D000650:Amnion / Q000166:cytology; D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000502:physiology*; D054428:Chemokine CX3CL1; D018925:Chemokines / Q000378:metabolism; D020523:Chemokines, CX3C / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: C515538:CX3CL1 protein, human; D054428:Chemokine CX3CL1; D018925:Chemokines; D020523:Chemokines, CX3C; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger