OBJECTIVE To establish the performance of conventional PCR as a noninvasive method for fetal genotyping, by free fetal DNA analysis of distinct RHD regions from maternal plasma, in a population of a diverse ethnic origin. METHODS We conducted a validity of the diagnostic test by analyzing 81 plasma samples from RhD-negative Brazilian pregnant women, from 4 to 41 gestational weeks. We tested f...

valproic acid is one of the main antiepileptic drugs. there is an increased risk of neural tube defects and axial skeletal malformations among infants born to women who had received valproic acid. there is a hypothesis that one biochemical abnormality underlying the teratogenicity of valproic acid is a drug-induced reduction in maternal plasma zinc .in the present experimental study mated rats ...

Maternal perinatal nutrition may program offspring metabolic features. Epigenetic regulation is one of the candidate mechanisms that may be affected by maternal dietary methyl donors intake as potential controllers of plasma homocysteine levels. Thirty-two Wistar pregnant rats were randomly assigned into four dietary groups during lactation: control, control supplemented with methyl donors, hig...

Detection of fetal-derived DNA and RNA molecules in maternal plasma is a promising approach for noninva-sive prenatal diagnosis (1). Analysis of circulating fetal RNA, unlike analysis of fetal Y-chromosomal DNA, can be used in pregnancies with fetuses of either gender (2). Placenta-derived mRNA species are readily detectable in maternal plasma (2). The fetal hematopoietic compartment may be ano...

Maintenance of optimal lopinavir (LPV) concentration is essential for effective antiretroviral therapy and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus. However, little is known about the effects of inflammation on the pharmacokinetics of this protease inhibitor and drug transporter substrate, particularly during gestation. Our objective was to study the effect of ...

The content stability of commonly used control genes is considered to vary significantly in different independent experimental systems, either in the expression of RNA expression or in the level of DNA content. The present study aimed to examine a panel of six common control genes, including β‑globin (HBB), telomerase (TERT), glyceraldehyde‑3‑phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), albumin (ALB), β‑ac...

BACKGROUND Maternal antibodies are believed to play an integral role in protecting immunologically immature wild-passerines from environmental antigens. This study comprehensively examines the early development of the adaptive immune system in an altricial-developing wild passerine species, the house sparrow (Passer domestics), by characterizing the half-life of maternal antibodies in nestling ...

The hormone oxytocin (OT) is of particular interest in the study of childbearing women, as it has a role in the onset and course of labor and breastfeeding. Recent research has linked OT to maternal caregiving behavior towards her infant, and to postpartum depressive symptomatology. There is also evidence that psychosocial adversity affects the oxytocin system. The present study investigated th...

Background: Preeclampsia is one of the most common complications of pregnancy. It is the cause of high morbidity and mortality for mothers and fetuses, especially in developing countries. The etiology of preeclampsia is unknown. One of the hypothesis on pathophysiology of preeclampsia is dyslipidemia. The aim of this study was to determine maternal plasma levels of lipoproteins in patients with...

the current study investigated the effect of short-term selection for four week body weight (bw) on performance of divergent lines of japanese quail and their crosses. the mean of bw at hatching time, one, two, three and four week oldand bw at sexual maturity time, age at sexual maturity, number of eggs (from 50 to 100 days old), mean of egg weight, percentage of fertility and hatchability in e...