Overview I -- Methods for Studying Embryo Implantation and Uterine Biology -- Methodologies to Study Implantation in Mice -- Blastocyst Culture -- Isolation of Hormone Responsive Uterine Stromal Cells -- Rat Decidual Cell Cultures -- The Immortalization of Human Endometrial Cells -- Sheep Uterine Gland Knockout (UGKO) Model -- A Baboon Model for Inducing Endometriosis -- A Baboon Model for Simulating Pregnancy -- The Common Marmoset Monkey as a Model for Implantation and Early Pregnancy Research -- In Vitro Trophoblast and Placental Model Systems -- Mouse Trophoblast Stem Cells -- Connexins and Trophoblast Cell Lineage Development -- Rcho-1 Trophoblast Stem Cells -- Bovine Trophoblast Cell Culture Systems -- In Vitro Induction of Trophoblast from Human Embryonic Stem Cells -- Isolation and Culture of Term Human Trophoblast Cells -- Production of Human Trophoblast Cell Lines -- Culture and Transfection of Human Choriocarcinoma Cells -- In Vitro Methods for Studying Vascularization of the Murine Allantois and Allantoic Union with the Chorion -- Phenotypic Analysis of the Placenta -- Phenotypic Analysis of the Mouse Placenta -- Phenotypic Analysis of the Rat Placenta -- Analysis of the Structure of the Ruminant Placenta -- Characterization of the Bovine Placenta by Cytoskeleton, Integrin Receptors, and Extracellular Matrix -- Molecular Markers for Human Placental Investigation -- Correlative Microscopy of Ultrathin Cryosections in Placental Research -- Vascular Corrosion Casting of the Uteroplacental and Fetoplacental Vasculature in Mice -- Analysis of Fetal and Maternal Microvasculature in Ruminant Placentomes by Corrosion Casting -- Molecular Analysis and Gene Transfer Techniques -- Microarray Analysis of Trophoblast Cells -- Gene Expression Microarray Data Analysis of Decidual and Placental Cell Differentiation -- Assays to Determine Allelic Usage of Gene Expression in the Placenta -- Adenoviral-Mediated Gene Delivery to Trophoblast Cells.

Placenta research has progressed rapidly over the past several decades by taking advantage of technical advances, such as microarray analysis, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, protein analysis, and in situ hybridization. In Placenta and Trophoblast: Methods and Protocols, Volumes 1 & 2, internationally recognized investigators describe cutting-edge laboratory techniques for the study of the trophoblast and placental biology. The techniques presented range from experimental animal models, to animal and human placental organ and cell culture systems, to morphological, biochemical, and molecular strategies for assessing trophoblast/placental growth, differentiation, and function. Volume 1 provides readily reproducible protocols for studying embryo-uterine implantation, trophoblast cell development, and the organization and molecular characterization of the placenta. Highlights include strategies for the isolation and culture of trophoblast cells from primates, ruminants, and rodents, and precise guidance to the molecular and cellular analysis of the placental phenotype. A companion second volume concentrates on methods for investigating placental function. Comprehensive and state-of-the-art, Placenta and Trophoblast: Methods and Protocols, Volumes 1 & 2 provide researchers a firm foundation for successful cellular and molecular analysis of the placenta and the establishment of pregnancy.