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Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 2007;297:686.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Chemokines, signaling molecules that attract immune cells to infected cells, help protect the fetus from infection and prevent an attack on the placenta and fetus by the mother's immune system. But high levels of chemokines can also increase the risk of miscarriage. Now, scientists from Italy, the United States, and Croatia report that a molecule called D6 that targets certain chemokines reduced spontaneous abortion in mice, suggesting a new therapeutic strategy for protecting against miscarriage in humans (de la Torre YM. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. doi:10.1073/pnas.060751404 [published online January 29, 2007]).

Animal studies show that a molecule called D6 (stained green) found in the placenta appears to protect against miscarriage (www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0607514104). (Photo credit: National Academy of Sciences)

The researchers found when they induced inflammation in pregnant mice lacking D6, a molecule normally expressed in the placenta that scavenges and destroys CC . . . [Full Text of this Article]