Low-molecular weight heparin restores in-vitro trophoblast invasiveness and differentiation in presence of immunoglobulin G fractions obtained from patients with antiphospholipid syndrome

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of immunoglobulin G obtained from patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) on in-vitro models of trophoblast invasiveness and differentiation. We tested the binding of affinity-purified immunoglobulin G to human primary trophoblast cells. These antibodies affected the invasiveness and differentiation of cytotrophoblast cells after binding to the cell surface. In addition, we determined whether the drugs used to treat APS might be able to restore the trophoblast functions. Low-molecular weight heparin, in a dose-dependent manner, significantly reduced the immunoglobulin G binding to trophoblast cells and restored in-vitro placental invasiveness and differentiation. No effect was observed in the presence of acetylsalicylic acid. These observations may help in understanding the role of these treatments in women with APS

Study of tau-pair production in photon-photon collisions at LEP and limits on the anomalous electromagnetic moments of the tau lepton

Tau-pair production in the process was studied using data collected by the DELPHI experiment at LEP2 during the years 1997 - 2000. The corresponding integrated luminosity is 650 pb-1. The values of the cross-section obtained are found to be in agreement with QED predictions. Limits on the anomalous magnetic and electric dipole moments of the tau lepton are deduced