The placenta provides critical transport functions between the maternal and fetal circulations during intrauterine development. Formation of this interface relies on coordinated interactions among transcriptional, epigenetic, and environmental factors. Here we describe these mechanisms in the context of the differentiation of placental cells (trophoblasts) and synthesize current knowledge about...

Mice deficient for endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3(-/-)) may represent a good model for studying embryo loss and intrauterine growth retardation caused by vascular deficiencies. We determined the effects of embryo genotype (homozygous vs. heterozygous descendants with paternal or maternal source of the non-functional NOS3 allele) and maternal environment (NOS3(-/-) vs. wild-type NOS3(+/...

The early-life environment, particularly in the fetus, is now recognised as an important determinant of several adult-onset diseases. Thus, increased frequencies of hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes, collectively referred to as the ‘Metabolic Syndrome’, have been linked to intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), an assumed marker of a poor fetal environment. These links ar...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to compare the placental weight and birth weight/placental weight ratio for intrauterine growth-restricted and non-intrauterine growth-restricted monochorionic and dichorionic twins. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of placentas from twin pregnancies. Placental weight and the birth weight/placental weight ratio were compared in intrauterin...

Children born small for gestational age (SGA) are at high risk of permanent short stature, with approximately 10% continuing to have stature below the third centile throughout childhood and adolescence and into adulthood. The mechanisms involved in catch-up growth, and those that prevent catch-up growth, are still unknown. To date, no reliable anthropometric or endocrine parameter predictive of...