During pregnancy, the hormonal systems of the mother and fetus are intricately interconnected to ensure normal fetal development. Accordingly, maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy can interfere with fetal development, not only directly, through adverse effects exerted by alcohol that crosses the placenta and enters the fetal bloodstream, but also indirectly, by disturbing the functions...

Several aspects of the functional development of the testis and ovary have been characterized in the fetal rabbit. First, the capacity of the fetal ovary to form 17p-estradiol develops at the same time in embryogenesis as the onset of testosterone formation in the fetal testis. Second, both fetal ovaries and testes have the capacity to form these steroid hormones from cholesterol de novo. Third...

Organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells recapitulate the early three-dimensional organization of the human brain, but whether they establish the epigenomic and transcriptional programs essential for brain development is unknown. We compared epigenomic and regulatory features in cerebral organoids and human fetal brain, using genome-wide, base resolution DNA methylome and transcripto...

Exposure to environmental contaminants during the critical window of pregnancy results in deregulation of highly coordinated genetic and epigenetic mechanisms involved in prenatal growth. Such disturbances significantly alter the fetal programming, and lead to various developmental disorders immediately, over the lifetime, or transgenerationally. During the process of placental development, fet...

Objective: Silybum marianum has been used for centuries in herbal medicine for treatment of liver diseases. Currently, there is no data available on the possible effects of silymarin on fetal development. This study aimed to investigate the teratogenic effect of silymarin on BALB/c mice fetuses. Materials and Methods: A total of 40 pregnant mice were divided into 4 groups of 10 mice each. Three...

The INMA (INfancia y Medio Ambiente [Environment and Childhood]) is a population-based cohort study in different Spanish cities, that focuses on prenatal environmental exposures and growth, development and health from early fetal life until childhood. The study focuses on five primary areas of research: (1) growth and physical development; (2) behavioural and cognitive development; (3) asthma a...

VDJ rearrangement and VH gene usage during fetal development in 35 outbred piglets was examined by PCR amplification of VDJs; VDJs were subsequently characterized by hybridization with VH-specific gene probes and by sequencing. VDJ rearrangement was first seen in the fetal liver on day 30 of a 114-day gestation. Four VH genes (V(H)A, V(H)B, V(H)C, and V(H)E) accounted for approximately 80% of a...