Reynolds Lawrence P, Borowicz Pawel P, Caton Joel S, Vonnahme Kimberly A, Luther Justin S, Buchanan David S, Hafez Shireen A, Grazul-Bilska Anna T, Redmer Dale A
Center for Nutrition and Pregnancy, and Department of Animal Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA.
Int J Dev Biol. 2010;54(2-3):355-66. doi: 10.1387/ijdb.082799lr.
The importance of the placenta and its vascular development to fetal growth and development has been appreciated since ancient times. Based on numerous studies in humans and animal model organisms in the last 2-3 decades, normal placental angiogenesis is critically important to ensure adequate blood flow to the placenta and therefore to provide the substrates that support normal fetal growth. Placental angiogenesis is abnormal at term in compromised pregnancies (those in which fetal growth is altered), including those resulting from maternal nutritional or environmental stress, maternal age, increased numbers of fetuses, maternal or fetal genotype, or the use of assisted reproductive technologies (e.g., cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer). We and others have recently shown that these defects in placental vascular development occur quite early in pregnancy and may therefore presage compromised fetal growth and development. The challenges will be to find biomarkers of abnormal placental angiogenesis and to develop therapeutic strategies to "rescue" placental vascular development and thus fetal growth in compromised pregnancies. Animal models will be essential in meeting these challenges.
自古以来，胎盘及其血管发育对胎儿生长发育的重要性就已为人所知。基于过去二三十年在人类和动物模型生物上的大量研究，正常的胎盘血管生成对于确保胎盘有足够的血流，进而提供支持胎儿正常生长的底物至关重要。在受损妊娠（即胎儿生长发生改变的妊娠）足月时，胎盘血管生成是异常的，包括那些由母体营养或环境应激、母体年龄、胎儿数量增加、母体或胎儿基因型，或使用辅助生殖技术（如体细胞核移植克隆）导致的妊娠。我们和其他人最近表明，这些胎盘血管发育缺陷在妊娠早期就会出现，因此可能预示着胎儿生长发育受损。面临的挑战将是找到胎盘血管生成异常的生物标志物，并开发治疗策略来“挽救”胎盘血管发育，从而改善受损妊娠中的胎儿生长。动物模型对于应对这些挑战至关重要。
