The human placenta is capable of producing a variety of hematopoietic growth factors in vitro. It is not clear, however, whether the placenta produces these factors in vivo, or if so whether such production has a physiologic role in fetal hematopoietic development. To assess this, we obtained human placentas between 10 weeks gestation and term and studied production of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in several ways. First, we sought to determine whether the onset of production of G-CSF mRNA in the placenta immediately precedes the appearance of neutrophil development in the fetus. From studying 26 abortuses, neutrophils first appeared at 14 weeks gestation. Placental G-CSF mRNA was not detected, however, in placentas of this gestation. In fact, placental G-CSF was not detected in any normal (non-infected) placentas from 10 weeks through term. We next assessed the effect of gestational age on the capacity of placentas to generate G-CSF, when stimulated in vitro by Interleukin-1 α (IL-1 α). Cubes of placenta, obtained at various gestations, were incubated overnight in tissue culture media. Relatively small quantities of G-CSF were liberated into the culture media (226±14 pg G-CSF/mL, mean±SD) from placentas of 17-34 weeks gestation (n=6), and this did not increase when IL-1 α was included (232±15 pg/mL). Placenta from term gestations (n=5), however liberated 1,168±419 pg G-CSF/mL into the culture media to which IL-1 α was not included, and 24,878±6319 in those in which it was not. Next, we assessed the rate of G-CSF production by placentas, by perfusing two normal, term placental cotyledons, using a membrane-oxygenator system, and quantifying G-CSF, at intervals, in the perfusate. In both, production of G-CSF peaked at >25 pg G-CSF/mL placental tissue/hr, and continued for 48 hrs. Thus, 1) we found no evidence that placental production of G-CSF is involved in regulating fetal granulocytopoiesis, 2) healthy placentas produce little or no G-CSF in vivo, 3) the placenta at term has a far greater capacity to produce G-CSF, when stimulated, than does the placenta before term, and 4), although the placenta at term does not normally produce G-CSF, it has the capacity of generating very large quantities of G-CSF continuously over at least two days.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sola, M., Li, Y., Calhoun, D. et al. PRODUCTION OF GRANULOCYTE COLONY-STIMULATING FACTOR BY THE HUMAN PLACENTA AT VARIOUS STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. ▴ 398. Pediatr Res 39 (Suppl 4), 69 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199604001-00418
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199604001-00418