SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Fetus”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

[The effect of ACTH and chorionic gonadotropin on cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate concentration and of a homogenate of fetal hypophysis on adrenal steroidogenesis in human embryos and fetuses from the 7th to the 12th week of embryonic development].

It was shown that homogenates of the hypophysis of human fetuses from the 8th to the 12th week of gestation stimulated in vitro formation of F and DEA-sulfate in the adrenal glands of fetuses of the same gestation period. ACTH increased the cAMP concentration in the adrenal glands of all the embryos and fetuses under study; this pointed to the presence in them of ACTH-dependent adenylcyclase, and, consequently, of the ACTH receptors. On the contrary, chorionic hormone produced no effect on the cAMP concentration in the adrenal glands. The data obtained, together with those published earlier suggested that adrenal glands of human fetuses from the 8th week of gestation were already under the controlling influence of ACTH of their hypophyses and that the action mechanism of ACTH on the adrenal glands of fetuses was analogous to its action on the adrenal glands of adult.

Adrenal Glands↗

PubMed1977

alpha-Fetoprotein levels in pregnancies complicated by gastrointestinal abnormalities of the fetus.

alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) levels have been measured in maternal serum and amniotic fluid in a variety of gastrointestinal abnormalities of the fetus. Maternal serum AFP levels were consistently elevated in abdominal wall defects of the fetus after 15 weeks gestation and the amniotic fluid levels were raised in 3 of the 4 patients measured. In atresia of the gastrointestinal tract and diaphragmatic hernia, serum AFP levels were usually normal unless there was an associated neural tube defect or multiple pregnancy, although the majority were not measured between 15 and 26 weeks gestation. If elevated amniotic fluid levels of AFP are used in the decision to terminate pregnancy on the assumption of a probable neural tube defect of the fetus, a proportion of terminations will be performed because of abdominal wall defects of the fetus.

Abdominal Muscles↗

PubMed1977

Lung phosphatidylcholine synthesis and cholinephosphotransferase activity in anencephalic rat fetuses with corticosteroid deficiency.

Adrenocortical insufficiency was produced in rat fetuses by surgical decapitation. These animals show low plasma corticosterone levels compared to littermate controls. Lung slices from anencephalic fetuses were found to have reduced incorporation of [14C]choline into phosphatidylcholine, hence diminished choline pathway activity; this abnoramlity was present at 21 days of gestation but not at term. Cholinephosphotransferase (CPT), the terminal catalyst of the choline pathway, also showed diminished activity in lungs of anencephalic fetuses, with a mean of 120 pmol/min/mg protein compared to a control value of 190. Dexamethasone treatment of these animals for 6-12 hr led to enhanced choline incorporation rates. Corticosteroid administration also restored CPT activity and even elevated the enzyme to a mean level (340 pmol/min/mg protein) greater than that found in normal fetuses at 21-22 days of gestation. The early pulmonary biochemical effects of dexamethasone in this model were not accompanied by recognizable ultrastructural changes.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

PubMed1977

Effects upon the fetus of oxygen administration to the mother. A study in monkey.

Catheters were placed into assorted arteries and veins of 8 anaesthetized pregnant monkeys and their fetuses. Oxygen-sensitive electrodes were also inserted subcutaneously into 3 of the 8 fetuses. Periodic samples of maternal and fetal blood were analyzed for PO2, PCO2 and pH. Oxygen administration to the mothers reliably increased the PO2 of blood taken from the fetal carotid artery and less constantly augmented the PO2 of blood withdrawn from the femoral artery and vein. During 5-6 hours of study the oxygen tension of fetal blood samples of all animals progressively declined. However, the most marked declines in PO2 values at all fetal sites were regularly observed at those times as--or after--the mothers emerged from anaesthesia. At these times also the magnitudes of the increases in fetal blood PO2 brought about by administering oxygen to the mothers diminished markedly and in parallel at all sample sites. The closely similar magnitudes of these various reductions at all fetal sample sties indicate that the basic mechanisms leading to decreased oxygen delivery lie outside the fetuses and are most likely due to decreased maternal blood flow to the uterus because of increased maternal sympathetic stimulation. These reductions in oxygen delivery to the fetus are all regularly reversed by reanasthetizing the mothers. The studies carried out with oxygen-sensitive electrodes demonstrate that administering oxygen to the mothers regularly increases oxygen tension of fetal tissues but after a 50 sec delay.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Effect of ACTH on the transformation of progesterone by the adrenal glands of human fetuses in vitro].

It was shown in vitro that ACTH influenced the progesterone transformation increasing corticosterone production only in those fetuses whose adrenal glands, in the absence of ACTH, transformed progesterone chiefly into hydrocortisone (8--12-week fetuses). But exogenous ACTH failed to influence such transformation of progesterone in 17--24-week fetuses in which the adrenal glands, in the absence of ACTH preparation, produced an equal amount of hydrocortisone and corticosterone. The results obtained and also the data on ACTH content in the hypophysis and the blood of human fetuses at various periods of prenatal development indicated that the changes in progesterone transformation occurring with the advance of fetal age was caused by endogenous ACTH.

Adrenal Glands↗

PubMed1975

The functional state of the thyroid gland of the mother and fetus in the prenatal development of rabbits.

The functional state of the thyroid gland of the mother and fetus was studied in different periods of intrauterine development of rabbits, as well as in newborn rabbits according to the level of protein-bound iodine (PBI) in the blood plasma and thyroid gland tissue. Similar studies were conducted after a thyroidectomy of females on the 10th-12th day of pregnancy in order to demonstrate the possibility of mutual compensation of the hormonal function under pathological conditions. The level of PBI in the blood plasma of the mother clearly increases in the second half of pregnancy and decreases sharply after birth. The content of PBI in the fetal blood plasma increases continuously beginning with the 22nd day of intrauterine development. The level of PBI in the thyroid gland tissue both of the mother and the fetus increases sharply at the end of pregnancy. In fetuses of thyroidectomized females the amount of PBI in the blood plasma and thyroid gland tissue on the 22nd day of pregnancy considerably exceeded that in normal fetuses.

Animals↗

PubMed1979

Poliomyelitis in the fetus and the newborn. A comment on the new understanding of the pathogenesis.

A survey of the literature shows that although poliovirus may be recovered from fetuses whose mothers have paralytic poliomyelitis, there is no evidence that the fetuses themselves are affected. It is suggested that if postnatal poliomyelitis results from an autoallergic response not developed in the fetus, then poliovirus cannot enter the CNS of the fetus. When a mother has paralytic poliomyelitis at delivery the neonate has a 40 per cent chance of poliomyelitis, with a case fatality rate of about 50 per cent. It is suggested that most of these neonates become infected by virus entry into the exposed olfactory and nasal nerve endings after the membranes have burst. This would explain the very short incubation period and the high case and case fatality rates.

Female↗

PubMed1979

Plasma beta-endorphin and beta-lipotropin in the human fetus at delivery: correlation with arterial pH and pO2.

Beta-endorphin-like immunoactivity was measured in the umbilical cord plasma of 45 term human fetuses. Mean concentration was 91 +/- 16 (SEM) pg/ml,an the normal adult level of 30.7 +/- 2.7 pg/ml. This immunoactivity was further characterized in 10 cases by Sephadex G-50 chromatography to separate beta-endorphin from beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH). Mean beta-endorphin and beta-LPH concentrations were 57 +/- 12.8 and 455 +/- 101 pg/ml, respectively. Both were higher (P less than 0.01) than the mean beta-endorphin and beta-LPH concentrations reported in the adult. The mean molar beta-endorphin to beta-LPH ratio was 0.35 in the fetus and 0.36 in the adult. In 17 fetuses whose umbilical arterial and venous concentrations were measured separately, mean beta-endorphin-like immunoactivity was higher in the artery than in the vein. A highly significant negative correlation (r = -0.831; P less than 0.001) was present between umbilical arteiral pH and beta-endorphin-like immunoactivity. A negative correlation (r = -0.611; P less than 0.005) with arterial pO2 was also noted. We conclude that high levels of beta-endorphin-like immunoactivity, composed of both beta-endorphin and beta-LPH, circulate in the human fetus at term, and that hypoxia and secondary acidosis may be major stimuli to the release of these peptides.

Adult↗

PubMed1978

[In vitro effect of psychopharmacologic drugs on the embryonic brain tissue of the fetuses of schizophrenic mothers].

The author studied the influence on the adaptation of the nervous tissue explantations from 25 fetuses of schizophrenic mothers and a similar amount of fetuses from normal women (embryonal development--7-12 weeks) during the initial period of explantation in vitro (5-6 days) with 10 psychopharmacological preparations (aminasine, majeptile, stelasine, triphtasine, tesercin, theralen, haloperidol, eglonyl, mellipramin, seduxen). Their final concentration in a nourishing medium was approximately the same as in the blood of schizophrenic patients, treated by phenothiasine preparations. The adaptation of the fetus pervous tissue from schizophrenic mothers differed from the corresponding reaction of fetus brain explantation from normal women. There was a tendency to a higher stability of experimental cultures. However, there were differences depending upon the character of introduced drugs.

Antidepressive Agents↗

PubMed1975

[Possibilities for the spread of alpha-fetoprotein and heterologous antibodies in mother and fetus during transplacental carcinogenesis].

The study of distribution of J125 labelled homologous alpha-fetoproteins (AFP) and heterologous antibodies (anti-AFP) in rats indicated some differences in the level of radioactivity of organs and tissues in animals, depending on age, especially in kidneys and large intestine. In normal pregnancy AFP passes through the placenta in both directions, but in rather less relative amounts from the fetus to mother. No labelled AFP was found in the amniotic fluid of fetuses 5 hours after its injection to pregnant mice. Anti-ATP injected in normal pregnant mice failed to pass through the placental barrier to the fetus, and radioactivity 5 hours following the injection was detected neither in fetal tissues nor in the amniotic fluid. After transplacental exposure of fetuses to methyl nitrosurea the labelled AFP was found in the amniotic fluid, while anti-AFP-both in fetal tissues and the amniotic fluid.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1975

Response of the primate fetus to intra-amniotic saline injection.

The amniotic fluid was replaced with 20 per cent sodium chloride solution during the second half of gestation in 12 pregnant rhesus monkeys. This produced a congealing of the fetal blood in the small umbilical vessels which overlie in the placental chorionic plate. Death of severe asphyxia followed within 20 to 50 minutes in the younger fetuses due to a prompt cessation of umbilical blood flow. During this time, the rise in serum sodium of the fetus was moderate and could not be implicated as the cause of fetal death. In older fetuses, the asphyxia produced by the saline injection was transient and less severe, occasionally permitting survival. The caliber of the affected fetal umbilical blood vessels and their blood flow rates are presented as the principal determinants of the rapidity of development and the severity of the asphyxia produced by saline instillation.

Abortion, Induced↗

PubMed1975

The effect of increased maternal PaO2 upon the fetus during labor.

The effect of increased maternal PaO2 upon the fetus during labor was studied in 36 subhuman primates. The animals were divided into two groups, one in which the fetus was not asphyxiated and showed no evidence of fetal distress (Group I) and another in which the fetus was acidotic, hypoxic, and exhibited the pattern of late deceleration of the heart rate (Group II). One hundred per cent oxygen was administered to the mothers for a period of 30 minutes. Elevation of maternal PaO2 to 430 mm. Hg increased fetal oxygen levels in Group I. and in most instances in Group II, without significant changes in the acid-base state. In Group II, maternal hyperoxemia also abolished or reduced the frequency of late deceleration of the fetal heart in most animals but had little or no effect on fetal blood pressure. Termination of high-concentration oxygen to the mother resulted in a fall in maternal and fetal oxygen levels to their original values and the reappearance of late fetal heart decelerations. Thus, administration of high-concentration oxygen to the mother for the treatment of fetal distress may be of some benefit. The problems of fetal acidosis and hypotension are not cured, however, and may still progress if there is placental insufficiency or cord compression. Therefore, this treatment should be regarded as a temporary supportive measure only.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗

PubMed1978

The influence of maternal psychological stress on the fetus.

The effects of maternal agitation, induced by exposure to bright light, upon fetal well-being were studied in pregnant rhesus monkeys at 139 to 148 days of gestation. Fetuses were classified as "healthy" or "asphyxiated" according to their initial acid-base state. Following variable periods of maternal excitement, a decrease in heart rate and arterial oxygenation was seen in all fetuses. Recovery occurred more rapidly in the healthy group, after maternal sedation was achieved, either by removing the stimulus or by additional administration of pentobarbital, 5 to 20 mg. intravenously. The beneficial effects of meternal sedation on the fetus have thus been demonstrated.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

A novel PKHD1 missense variant disrupting splicing in a fetus with Caroli disease.

BACKGROUND: Caroli disease (CD) is a rare inherited disorder characterized by dilatation of intrahepatic bile ducts, and prenatal diagnosis of this disease is extremely rare. PKHD1 is the only known causative gene, yet the pathogenicity of most missense variants remains unclear. METHODS: Exome sequencing (ES) was performed on a fetus with clinical features of CD. Candidate variants were validated by Sanger sequencing in the family. The impact of the novel missense variant on pre-mRNA splicing was assessed using minigene assays, and structural modeling of the PKHD1 protein was conducted with AlphaFold 3. RESULTS: At 23 weeks of gestation, the fetus showed hepatic cysts on ultrasound and a "central dot" sign on MRI, suggesting a diagnosis of CD. The fetus also exhibited features of autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease and oligohydramnios. ES identified and Sanger sequencing confirmed three PKHD1 variants: a paternal nonsense variant c.5323C>T; p.(Arg1775*), and two maternal missense variants c.6682G>C; p.(Glu2228Gln) and c.8012G>T; p.(Arg2671Leu). The variant c.6682G>C is novel and minigene assays demonstrated that it caused exon 40 skipping, leading to an in‑frame deletion (c.6491_6682del; p.(Gly2164_Arg2227del)). Structural modeling predicts that this deletion lies within a large β‑barrel domain and may compromise its structural stability. Conclusion We characterize a novel missense variant that causes aberrant splicing of PKHD1 in CD. This finding underscores the necessity of functional analysis for evaluating the pathogenicity of missense variants, especially those at the last nucleotide of an exon. Our study expands the mutation spectrum of PKHD1 and provides insights into genotype‑phenotype correlations.

Humans↗

PubMed1977

Isolation of Campylobacter fetus from recent cases of human vibriosis.

Campylobacter fetus was isolated from five recent cases of human vibriosis, of which two were adults and three were children. One adult presented with pericarditis and the other with recurrent pyrexia. Campylobacter fetus subsp. intestinalis which resembled cattle strains serologically, was isolated under CO2 or anaerobic conditions from blood cultures of these patients. Two of the three children had kwashiorkor and the third was only 8 days old. Isolates identified as Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni were cultured from blood of these patients, two of whom had diarrhoea. Three patients succumbed, despite adequate antibiotic therapy. The epidemiology of the disease is discussed and it is suggested that infection may have been from the patients' own flora.

Adult↗

PubMed1979

Ultrastructural changes in the placenta of the ewe after long-term intravascular infusion of 2-bromo-alpha-ergocryptine (CB154) into mother or fetus.

The fine structural appearance of the placenta of the ewe has been examined following long-term infusion of CB154 into either the fetus or the pregnant ewe. Binucleate cells which usually contain aggregations of spherical membrane-bound electron-dense inclusions, are a characteristic component of the chorionic epithelium of the sheep. Following CB154 infusion into either the fetus or ewe at 111 to 137 days of gestation, binucleate cells were partially or completely depleted of the droplets which are present in binucleate cells of control animals at a similar gestational age. No obvious changes in the maternal epithelial syncytium were observed after CB154 administration. Infusion of CB154 into the fetus alone was also followed by degenerative changes in some binucleate cells which ranged from condensation of nuclei to complete cell fragmentation. Either a direct or an indirect action of CB154 on binucleate cells is suggested by these observations. Hypoprolactinaemia followed CB154 infusion in all treated animals; its possible influence on binucleate cell activity is discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1976

Lung lecithin biosynthesis in the nonhuman primate fetus: determination of the primary pathway in vivo.

The two pathways for de novo lecithin (phosphatidylcholine) biosynthesis, choline incorporation (1) and phosphatidylethanolamine methylation (II), were examined simultaneously in lung and other tissues of Rhesus monkey fetuses. Cannulation of interplacental fetal vessels permitted studies on the intrauterine fetus without disruption of fetal-placental-maternal-amniotic fluid anatomic integrity. In contrast to observations with indirect techniques in the same species, direct measurement of the incorporation of isotopic precursors (3H-choline and 14C-ethanolamine) into lecithin indicated that pathway I predominates by 100-fold over PE methylation in pulmonary lecithin synthesis. Fetal liver, brain, and kidney also showed 10--70-gold greater choline incorporation that methylation activity. Measurement of lung phosphatidylcholine production via the two pathways in acidemic fetuses (umbilical venous pH less than 7.20) demonstrated marked inhibition of pathway I, but not II. It is concluded that the choline pathway is the major mechanism of lung lecithin synthesis in fetal primates and that this pathway is pH sensitive in vivo.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗

PubMed1979

[Plasma growth hormone in the rabbit fetus. Relation to maturation of the liver and lung].

Day 25 after insemination is a date of peculiar importance in the maturation of several organs in the Rabbit fetus. From day 25 onward the fetal liver stores increasing amounts of glycogen and the lung stores increasing amounts of lecithins, concomitant with sudden rise in the activity of lung phosphatidic-acid phosphohydrolase. Earlier studies on decapitated fetuses established that glycogen storage in the liver is dependent on a dual hormonal control, comprising a pituitary hormone like growth hormone or prolactin (some placental hormones share the same activity) and corticosteroids (Jost, 1961). Since the variations in endogenous corticosteroids do not seem to herald these liver or lung changes (Mulay et al., 1973), a study was made of growth hormone. Plasma immunoreactive growth hormone--determined with a heterologous Rat system (Kervran et al., 1976)--increases eightfold between days 23 and 25. During the same time plasma prolactin does not change according to McNeily and Friesen, 1978, and to unpublished data obtained with Dr McNeilly. In preliminary assays, Rat growth hormone was seen to increase phosphorylase "a" activity in the lung of 18.5 day-old Rat fetuses, thus anticipating normal development. We suggest that growth hormone plays a role in initiating liver and lung maturation.

Age Factors↗