Figure 3.

Model of procalcitonin (PCT) synthesis by decidual cells in normal conditions and in pre‐eclampsia. Decidual stromal cells (DSC), extravillous trophoblast (EVT) and macrophages (M) are able to produce PCT in decidua, but the contribution of M in pathological conditions is the most relevant (right panel), while in normal conditions pregnancy hormones block the macrophage response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in terms of PCT production (left panel). Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α is necessary for the up‐regulation of PCT induced by pre‐eclamptic sera on macrophages, but it probably requires co‐operation with additional factors, still to be identified.