Hannah Morgan

• BSc Physiological Sciences
• Investigation of the role of decidual macrophages in spiral artery transformation in early human pregnancy

During normal human pregnancy the uterine spiral arteries are remodelled to allow for sufficient blood flow to the fetus, matrix-metalloproteinase and urokinase-type plasminogen activator are thought to be involved in this remodelling. This project provided a better understanding of the affect of decidual macrophage MMP-2, MMP-9 and uPA on placental development and extravillous trophoblast invasion. We found that the levels of these enzymes did not change significantly during pregnancy and that they did not significantly alter the invasiveness of trophoblasts. This has opened up areas of further research, i.e. assessing the role of other MMPs and investigating uPA associated activators/inhibitors.

Funding Source: Society for Reproduction & Fertility