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PubMed2001

Effects of exogenous somatotropin during early gestation on maternal performance, fetal growth, and compositional traits in pigs.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of maternal treatment with porcine somatotropin (pST) during early gestation on embryonic survival, fetal development, and internal environment for fetal growth. Sixty-two crossbred gilts received daily injections of either 3 mL of a placebo (control, n = 31) or 6 mg of pST (n = 31) from d 10 to 27 of gestation. Representative gilts were slaughtered on d 28, 37, and 62 of gestation. The remaining gilts were allowed to farrow. It was found that embryonic survival was not influenced by pST treatment (P > 0.10). However, pST affected the growth and composition of the maternal (endometrium) and fetal (chorion) parts of the placenta. Thus, endometrial RNA concentration tended to be increased by pST at d 37 (P = 0.15), and it was increased at d 62 (P < 0.05) of gestation, which is indicative of increased capacity for protein synthesis. At birth, placental chorion weight (P < 0.10) and contents of DM and protein (P < 0.05) were increased due to pST treatment, but no effects were detectable up to d 62 of gestation. Maternal pST treatment was effective at increasing nutrient supply to the embryo as suggested from elevated glucose concentrations in amniotic and allantoic fluids (P < 0.05) at d 28 of gestation. With regard to prenatal growth, embryonic DNA concentration was slightly elevated at d 28 (P < 0.10), but pST did not induce any changes in average embryonic, fetal, or neonatal weights. However, within litters, the birth weights of piglets in the 25% lowest weight group (LW) were increased by pST treatment vs control LW pigs (1,241+/-55 vs 1,099+/-59 g, P < 0.10). Thirty-eight neonates from 15 litters divided among the three weight groups were examined for body composition. The weight of the intestinal tract was increased above average after maternal pST treatment (P < 0.01). Additionally, the amounts of tissues such as bone (P = 0.12) and s.c. fat (P = 0.06), and of protein, fat (P = 0.10), and ash (P < 0.05) were increased, whereas the relative body composition remained unchanged by pST (P > 0.10). On average, muscle protein concentration was elevated due to pST (P < 0.01), and, in LW piglets, plasma IGF-I concentration was increased (P < 0.10). The results suggest that maternal somatotropin is a critical factor in early pregnancy capable of influencing placental nutrient transfer and placental growth. It thereby selectively improves the growth conditions for the smaller littermates.

Allantois↗
PubMed1989

Fetal development.

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Embryo, Mammalian↗
PubMed1996

Exposure of embryonic cells to alcohol: contrasting effects during preimplantation and postimplantation development.

Alcohol is a known teratogen that causes a broad variety of developmental anomalies, including fetal growth retardation, craniofacial anomalies, and neurological disorders. The etiology of this multiple defect syndrome, known as fetal alcohol syndrome, has been studied in animal models that reproduce many of the attributes of the human disease. These studies show that ethanol is most teratogenic during organogenesis and development of the nervous system. The molecular basis of fetal alcohol effects has been further investigated using embryo and cell culture systems. Recent studies show that signal transduction pathways controlling cell proliferation are perturbed during ethanol exposure. Ethanol can induce the release of intracellular calcium stores, which stimulates the cell cycle, and it also up-regulates the expression of myc proteins associated with cell proliferation. Increased proliferation is advantageous during the preimplantation period, but ethanol interference with terminal differentiation events within developing tissues during organogenesis may underlie alcohol teratogenicity.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed2001

Human neocortical development: the importance of embryonic and early fetal events.

The identification of numerous genes involved in the development of the cerebral cortex has led to an increased interest in the early stages of corticogenesis, when the first postmitotic neurons migrate into the cortical plate to form the foundation of the adult cortex. However, the cellular substrate of gene expression in early human cortical development is widely unknown. This article analyzes the complex sequence of events in the differentiation of the preplate, the predecessor of the neocortex, and discusses the possible origin and migratory routes of the neuronal populations involved in the transition from preplate to cortical plate. The neuronal classes present in embryonic and early fetal stages are redefined in terms of their relationship with the Reelin-Dab1 signaling pathway whose integrity is essential for successful migration into the cortex. A timetable of developmental steps is provided, and the peculiarities of the preplate derivatives in the human brain, marginal zone, and subplate are discussed. The results presented here may contribute to a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of migration disorders.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Receptor binding and mitogenic properties of mouse fibroblast growth factor 3. Modulation of response by heparin.

fgf3 has been implicated in the embryonic and fetal development of the mouse and as an oncogene in murine breast cancer. We describe a procedure to purify the product of the mouse fgf3 gene and show it to be a potent mitogen for some epithelial cell lines. Using a receptor binding competition assay, Fgf3 was shown to bind with high affinity to the IIIb isoforms of Fgf receptor (FgfR) 1 and FgfR2 (ID50 = approximately 0.8 nM) and with a lower affinity to the IIIc variant of FgfR2 (ID50 = approximately 9 nM). No competition for the binding of 125I-Fgf1 was observed for FgfR1 (IIIc), FgfR3 (IIIb and IIIc), or FgfR4. Mitogenicity assays using BaF3 cells containing individual Fgf receptors showed a pattern of response in agreement with the receptor binding results. A comparison of two mammary epithelial cell lines showed a marked difference of potency and dependence upon heparin in their response to mouse Fgf3, suggesting a complex interaction between the ligand and its low and high affinity receptors.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1994

Histopathological analysis of mice born following single cell embryo biopsy.

Single cell embryo biopsy is a useful but invasive technique for preimplantation diagnosis. Biopsy may be performed by physical (direct zona puncture) or chemical methods (zona drilling with acid solution). This study has analysed the safety of a physical method of embryo biopsy in the mouse. Six adult mice (male and female), three from biopsied embryos and three from a control group (non-biopsied) were subjected to histopathological analyses. Macroscopically, the anatomy and morphology of the internal organs in both groups were normal. Microscopic analyses of 15 major organs, which included the brain, heart, lung, liver, kidney, stomach, intestine, voluntary muscle, spleen, pancreas, adrenal, thymus, skin, testis (male) and ovary (female), in both groups were all normal. These results showed that careful single cell embryo biopsy by direct zona puncture performed at the 8-cell embryo stage had no adverse influence on the macroscopic and microscopic structure of the organs. The remaining pluripotential cells of biopsied embryos developed normal microstructure according to the hereditary messages. Ideally, the safety of embryo biopsy requires observation of three stages after embryo biopsy, namely embryonic and fetal development before birth, neonatal assessment and long-term monitoring after birth.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME) and propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGME): inhalation fertility and teratogenicity studies in rats, mice and rabbits.

A combined dominant lethal-fertility study was conducted in which male and female Sprague-Dawley (CD) rats were exposed to 0, 30, 100 or 300 ppm of ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME) vapor for 6 hr/day, 5 days/week for 13 weeks and then mated to untreated counterparts. Among males, fertility was completely suppressed after exposure to 300 ppm. A partial restoration of reproductive function was evident following 13 weeks of recovery. No treatment-related reproductive effects were observed among males exposed subchronically to 100 ppm, or among females exposed to 300 ppm or below of EGME. Studies to assess the effects of inhaled EGME on embryonal and fetal development were also conducted in Fischer 344 rats, CF-1 mice, and New Zealand White rabbits. Rats and rabbits were exposed to concentrations of 0, 3, 10 or 50 ppm for 6 hr/day on days 6-15 or 6-18 of gestation, respectively. Exposure of rabbits to 50 ppm resulted in significant teratologic effects, an increased resorption rate, and decreased fetal body weight. Slight fetotoxicity in the form of skeletal variations were observed among rats exposed to 50 ppm. Exposure of pregnant mice to 0, 10, or 50 ppm for 6 hr/day on days 6-15 of gestation resulted in slight fetotoxicity at 50 ppm. No significant treatment-related effects were observed at 10 ppm of EGME or below in any of the species tested. Separate groups of pregnant rats and rabbits were exposed to 0, 500, 1500 or 3000 ppm of propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGME) during organogenesis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Immunosuppression in pregnancy: choices for infant and maternal health.

Successful pregnancy outcomes are possible after all types of solid organ transplantation and thousands of successful pregnancies in such women have been reported. As immunosuppressive medications are required to maintain adequate graft and maternal survival, major concerns are the effect of these agents on the fetus and the effect of pregnancy on the well being of mother and graft, against a background of continuing advances and modifications in immunosuppressive therapy. Women should avoid unnecessary medications during pregnancy but clinicians worry most about teratogens; agents (environmental, pharmaceuticals or other chemicals) that cause abnormal development, whether this be an overt structural birth defect or more subtle derangements of embryonic or fetal development. A concern is that any agent or combination of agents and maternal condition(s) may be teratogenic, a risk that is increased in the transplant population. The goal of immunosuppression is to ensure graft and patient survival by preventing acute rejection. Combinations of agents allow for synergistic effects while minimising drug toxicities. No specific combination has been deemed optimal and the effects of more recently available combinations require further study. Although there are known theoretical risks to mother and fetus, successful pregnancies are now the rule in transplant recipients. This is without an apparent increase in the type or incidence of malformations in the newborns, and usually with no evidence of graft dysfunction and/or irreversible deterioration either related to prepregnancy graft problems or unpredictable gestational factors. For immunosuppression, what is best for the mother and her survival should ensure the best outcome for the fetus and, although no specific malformation pattern has been reported to date, there are some interesting trends worthy of continued analyses. A balance of good maternal and graft outcome with the lowest risk of fetal toxicity must be the goal of management.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1991

Analysis of the role of hormones and growth factors in growth control and tissue differentiation using transplanted mammalian embryos and fetal structures.

Results obtained from our analyses of the role of hormones and growth factors in rat embryonic and fetal development are reviewed. Whole 10-day embryos or structures from 14-16-day fetuses (paws, intestines, reproductive tracts) were transplanted under the kidney capsule of syngeneic host rats of different age, sex, physiological state or level of nutrition. In intact hosts, fetal transplants grew almost as much as they would have if left in situ in the fetuses, and tissue differentiation in them was essentially normal. By contrast, growth of embryo transplants was severely depressed relative to their growth in utero, but tissue differentiation was only slightly retarded. Fetal paws grew equally well in female hosts widely diverging in age and growth rate. Thus, in such hosts growth of the fetal paw was highly independent of the growth rate of the hosts. In hosts in which growth was arrested or reduced by diabetes, hypophysectomy or food restriction, growth of paw transplants was impaired, but not as severely as that of the hosts themselves. Fetal skeletal structures were relatively independent of thyroid hormones (TH) for growth; TH dependence developed progressively postnatally. In pregnant hosts, fetal paw transplants grew as well during the first half of gestation as they did in virgin females. By contrast, during the second half of pregnancy and during both halves of the lactational period, growth of the transplants was significantly reduced. Host skeletal growth was also inhibited during late pregnancy and throughout lactation. The impaired growth during the second half of gestation was associated with a large reduction in serum IGF-I concentration and a resistance to the growth-promoting actions of GH. In the lactating hosts, serum IGF-I concentration returned almost to prepregnancy levels and the resistance to GH persisted, but at a reduced level. The direct effects of hormones, growth factors, and antibodies to them on growth and tissue differentiation in the transplants were assessed using infusion methods. Substances were infused into the renal artery of transplant-bearing kidneys via catheters attached to osmotic minipumps. The direct effects of insulin, GH, IGFs, basic FGF and EGF on transplant growth and tissue differentiation were evaluated. Insulin directly stimulated growth of transplants in diabetic hosts but GH did not have a direct effect in hypophysectomized rats. The growth-restorative effects of GH observed in hypophysectomized hosts were apparently mediated indirectly via IGF-I. Infused rat IGF-II (MSA) was more effective at stimulating growth of embryo transplants than was recombinant human IGF-I.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Immortalization of a primate bipotent epithelial liver stem cell.

Liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy results primarily from the simple division of mature hepatocytes. However, during embryonic and fetal development or in circumstances under which postnatal hepatocytes are injured, organ regeneration is believed to occur from a compartment of epithelial liver stem or progenitor cells with biliary and hepatocytic bipotentiality. The ability to identify, isolate, and transplant epithelial liver stem cells from fetal liver would greatly facilitate the treatment of hepatic diseases currently requiring orthotopic liver transplantation. Here we report the identification and immortalization by retrovirus-mediated transfer of the simian virus 40 large T antigen gene of primate fetal epithelial liver cells with a dual hepatocytic biliary phenotype. These cells grow indefinitely in vitro and express the liver epithelial cell markers cytokeratins 8/18, the hepatocyte-specific markers albumin and alpha-fetoprotein, and the biliary-specific markers cytokeratins 7 and 19. Bipotentiality of gene expression was confirmed by clonal analysis initiated from single cells. Endogenous telomerase also is expressed constitutively. After orthotopic transplantation via the portal vein, approximately 50% of the injected cells integrated into the liver parenchyma of athymic mice without tumorigenicity. Three weeks after transplantation, cells having seeded in the liver parenchyma expressed both albumin and alpha-fetoprotein but had lost expression of cytokeratin 19. These results provide strong evidence for the existence of a bipotent epithelial liver stem cell in nonhuman primates. This unlimited source of donor cells also should enable the establishment of a model of allogenic liver cell transplantation in a large animal closely related to humans and shed light on important questions related to liver organogenesis and differentiation.

Albumins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Influence of gestational age and intrauterine growth on leptin concentrations in venous cord blood of human newborns.

BACKGROUND: The ob gene product leptin is involved in the regulation of body weight and energy expenditure, suggesting a potential role of leptin in embryonal and fetal development and progression of pregnancy. In term infants, leptin concentrations showed a positive correlation with birth weight. We aimed at comparing leptin cord blood levels in AGA (appropriate for gestational age) to SGA (small for gestational age) preterm and term newborns. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ninety-seven human newborns, 47 females and 50 males, 33 born at term and 64 born before 36 weeks of gestation, were studied prospectively. Leptin concentrations in venous cord blood were determined using a specific RIA (radioimmunoassay). RESULTS: In term newborns, mean gestational age (GA) was 39 weeks (wk) (+/- 0.7 wk) and mean birth weight (BW) was 3316 g (+/- 473 g); in preterm newborns (n = 64), mean GA was 30 wk (+/- 5.0 wk) and mean BW was 1398 g (+/- 505 g). Mean standard deviation score of birth weight (BW SDS) was calculated as - 0.47. Mean leptin concentrations in term newborns differed significantly from those in preterm newborns (9.21 +/- 2.63 ng/ml vs. 1.58 +/- 0.88 ng/ml; p < 0.0001). In preterm and term infants, leptin concentrations showed a linear correlation with BW (r = 0.46; p < 0.0001) and GA (r = 0.48; p < 0.0001), respectively. Leptin levels were best predicted by an exponential regression model with GA (Leptin = exp(- 4.41 + 0.14 x GA); r = 0.61; p < 0.0001). Using multivariate regression analysis (r = 0.57; p < 0.0001), we found significant influences of GA (p < 0.00001) and BW SDS (p < 0.05) on leptin levels. No difference was observed between leptin values in AGA versus SGA preterm infants. CONCLUSION: These data suggest fetal leptin levels to be primarily determined by GA and additionally modulated by growth restriction in term newborns. We found a dramatic increase at weeks 33 to 35 of gestation and no modulation by BW SDS in very preterm infants.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed2006

Review: Hyperthermia and fever during pregnancy.

An episode of hyperthermia is not uncommon during pregnancy. The consequences depend on the extent of temperature elevation, its duration, and the stage of development when it occurs. Mild exposures during the preimplantation period and more severe exposures during embryonic and fetal development often result in prenatal death and abortion. Hyperthermia also causes a wide range of structural and functional defects. The central nervous system (CNS) is most at risk probably because it cannot compensate for the loss of prospective neurons by additional divisions by the surviving neuroblasts and it remains at risk at stages throughout pre- and postnatal life. In experimental animals the most common defects are of the neural tube, microphthalmia, cataract, and micrencephaly, with associated functional and behavioral problems. Defects of craniofacial development including clefts, the axial and appendicular skeleton, the body wall, teeth, and heart are also commonly found. Nearly all these defects have been found in human epidemiological studies following maternal fever or hyperthermia during pregnancy. Suggested future human studies include problems of CNS function after exposure to influenza and fever, including mental retardation, schizophrenia, autism, and cerebral palsy.

Animals↗