title: Placental barrier breakage in preeclampsia: ultrastructural evidence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  It is known that the placenta acts as an immunological barrier between the mother and fetal "graft" allowing two antigenically different organisms to tolerate one another. Preeclampsia may be considered as a fetal rejection consequent to severe damage at placental endothelial and syncytiotrophoblast level. In order to verify this placental barrier damage we undertook the present study by electron microscopy.
  
  
  METHODS
  14 placentae from preeclaptic women, and the same number of placentae from healthy controls were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that endothelial cells from preeclamptic placentae express various and severe alterations, consisting of swollen and bulbous cytoplasm, degenerated inter-endothelial junctions with consequent crossing of fetal blood cells outside the vessels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These lesions could be the ultrastructural evidence of the placental barrier breakage leading to rejective reaction we presumed to be basis of preeclampsia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Medicine and Child Development, University of Pisa, S. Chiara Hospital, Via Roma 55, Pisa 56100, Italy. delucabrunori@hotmail.com
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: de Luca Brunori
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Battini
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brunori
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lenzi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paparelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simonelli
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Valentino
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Genazzani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000648:ultrastructure; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008871:Microvilli / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010920:Placenta / Q000098:blood supply / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000648:ultrastructure