REGULATED EXPRESSION OF GALECTIN-1 IN NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL PLACENTA: A POTENTIAL MECHANISM OF IMMUNE PRIVILEGE

R. RAMHORST, S, DURAND, M. TOSCANO, A. CORIGLIANO, S. GENTI AND G. RABINOVICH

Cordoba, Argentina

Congreso; VII Congreso Latinoamericano de Inmunología; 2005

Several apoptotic mechanisms contribute to the maintenance of feto-maternal tolerance, including TRAIL and Fas-FasL. To evaluate whether Gal-1 may play a role in the establishing feto-placental tolerance, we investigated Gal-1 expression in normal and pathological trophopastical tissues. Western Blot analysis and immunohistochemistry of placental tissue reveled high expression of Gal-1 in the first trimester, which was modulated throughout gestation. Moreover, moles expressed Gal-1 at different levels and particularly JEG3 (a human choriocarcinoma cell line), expressed significantly higher levels of this protein. Functional studies revealed that condition media (CM) obtained from JEG-3 cells were able to significantly suppress proliferation of polyclonally-activated PBMC (p