Investigating the developmental life line

View Large Image | Download PowerPoint SlideThe placenta plays a crucial role in the success of pregnancy. The second volume of Placenta and Trophoblast: Methods and Protocols is divided into five sections that examine the behavior and function of placenta and trophoblast. First, an excellent introduction is provided, which orients the reader on the sequence and rationale for the selected topics. The second section concerns trophoblast invasion, including detailed morphological aspects of this process and experimental approaches to examine trophoblast invasion of extracellular matrix and blood vessels. The third section provides methodologies for the isolation of immune, uterine and placental cells, and techniques that might subsequently be used to study the interaction of these cell types. Methods employed to quantify placental transport in whole tissue, isolated cells and cell fractions are then described in the fourth section. The volume concludes with methods used to analyze maternal and placental adaptation to diseases of pregnancy, with a particular emphasis on intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preeclampsia (PE), major complications of pregnancy associated with significant fetal mortality and morbidity.To date, methods used to study the role of the trophoblast in the etiology and pathogenesis of preeclampsia are rather limited. Two major observations have been made in this disease: the maternal vasculature is not remodeled properly by trophoblast, and trophoblast products likely have a crucial role in maternal hypertension, proteinuria and kidney damage in this complication of pregnancy. An outstanding aspect of Placenta and Trophoblast: Methods and Protocols is that it provides an overview of the state-of-the-art methods for the assessment of trophoblast migration and vessel remodeling, animal models for the study of preeclampsia, and systems for the analysis of trophoblast response to hypoxia, an important complication in preeclampsia and IUGR. Of special note are the chapters that focus on trophoblast invasion of spiral arteries in vitro by Cartwright and Wareing, and on novel rat and mouse models of preeclampsia by Karumanchi and Stillman, and Zenclusson. Thus, information contained in this volume serves as a blueprint for the analysis of placental function and dysfunction, key elements for a better understanding of the etiologies of PE and IUGR and for the development of therapeutic interventions.One uneven aspect of this volume is that some authors describe the advantages and disadvantages of their chosen method of study, whereas others do not. Given that this book is specifically devoted to methods and protocols, it would have been appropriate for all contributors to provide an introduction containing a rationale for their chosen approach.Overall, each chapter follows an identical formula and, as a result, is easy to follow. An introduction is provided, materials are listed, and then the methods are described. Of special interest and importance is that each chapter concludes with a ‘notes section’ to draw the reader's attention to personal observations by the author that are important in successfully adopting the experimental model. This section is crucial as these observations seldom appear when these methods are first published with the original data. Also, the small and seemingly insignificant details that are provided might ensure successful implementation of these procedures in the laboratory.Placenta and Trophoblast: Methods and Protocols is likely to be most useful for those in the field of reproductive biology, and more specifically trophoblast biology. However, investigators in the fields of immunology, endocrinology and cancer biology will find some of the chapters extremely relevant, especially those involved with trophoblast invasion, trophoblast-immune cell interactions and placental steroidogenesis. Both directors of laboratories and more junior personnel (i.e. those individuals actually carrying out the experiments) will find this volume extremely useful, as it provides a broad overview of experimental approaches as well as specific details of where to obtain the necessary reagents to carry out the described studies.