Physiological cholestasis linked to immature hepatobiliary transport systems for organic anions occurs in rat and human neonates. In utero, the placenta facilitates vectorial transfer of certain fetal-derived solutes to the maternal circulation for elimination. We compared the ontogenesis of organic anion transporters in the placenta and the fetal liver of the rat to assess their relative abund...

The fetus requires significant energy for growth and development. Although glucose is a major source of energy for the fetus, other maternal nutrients also appear to promote growth. Thus, the goal of these studies was to determine whether triglyceride-rich remnants are taken up by the placenta and whether maternal dietary lipids, independently of adiposity, can impact fetal growth. To accomplis...

In a previous study we showed the existence of GH in the ovine placenta. We now supplement the information available on placental GH and describe the presence and distribution of GH receptor (GH-R) messenger RNA (mRNA) in uterine, fetal, and placental tissues during early pregnancy. GH mRNA was not detected in the placenta before day 27 (d27). Its expression peaked between d40 and d45 and fell ...

PURPOSE In intervillous space, thrombomodulin (TM) can be a key component of the protein C anticoagulant pathway that controls the balance between coagulation and anticoagulation/ /fibrinolysis via activation of protein C (APC). In our working hypothesis we assume that not only TM from the placenta, but also TM from myometrium might be engaged in this protective mechanism. To determine whether ...

A velamentous umbilical cord is characterized by membranous umbilical vessels at the placental insertion site that are prone to compression and rupture, especially when they are located in the membranes covering the cervical os (vasa praevia). The velamentous insertion of the umbilical cord, with a reported incidence of 1% in singleton pregnancies and 15% in monochorionic twin gestations, has b...

background: placenta previa (pp) is an obstetric complication that can affect maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. its prevalence is rising due to cesarean sections. there is no quantitative data of placenta in pp. in this study, quantitative parameters of placenta in cases with pp in comparison with normally implanted controls were investigated. methods: in this quasi experimental study...

Malaria leads to pathophysiological and biochemical alterations in placenta and blood of pregnant mice. A significant decrease in the sugar, protein and lipid levels in the placental homogenate of pregnantinfected mice was observed compared to the pregnant mice. However, serum protein content was not altered much in the pregnant-infected mice as compared to the levels in control mice. The serum...

Appropriate in utero growth is essential for offspring development and is a critical contributor to long-term health. Fetal growth is largely dictated by the availability of nutrients in maternal circulation and the ability of these nutrients to be transported into fetal circulation via the placenta. Substrate flux across placental gradients is dependent on the accessibility and activity of nut...

Substantial studies indicated that fetal macrosomia was associated with detrimental pregnancy outcomes, and increased susceptibility to metabolic diseases in later life. However, investigations into the association between placental microbiota and fetal macrosomia are limited. We aimed to profile the placental microbiota of fetal macrosomia and study whether they relate to clinical characterist...

Passage of environmental chemicals across the placenta has important toxicological consequences, as well as for choosing samples for analysis and for interpreting the results. To obtain systematic data, we collected in 2000 maternal and cord blood, cord tissue, placenta, and milk in connection with births in the Faroe Islands, where exposures to marine contaminants is increased. In 15 sample se...