Loukas Nikolaos, Vrachnis Dionysios, Antonakopoulos Nikolaos, Stavros Sofoklis, Machairiotis Nikolaos, Fotiou Alexandros, Christodoulaki Chryssi, Lolos Markos, Maroudias Georgios, Potiris Anastasios, Drakakis Petros, Vrachnis Nikolaos
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tzaneio General Hospital, 185 36 Piraeus, Greece.
Third Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University General Hospital "ATTIKON", Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 124 62 Athens, Greece.
Children (Basel). 2024 Oct 21;11(10):1270. doi: 10.3390/children11101270.
Placental insufficiency and gestational diabetes, which are both serious pregnancy complications, are linked to altered fetal growth, whether restricted or excessive, and result in metabolic dysfunction, hypoxic/oxidative injury, and adverse perinatal outcomes. Although much research has been carried out in this field, the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms have not as yet been fully elucidated. Particularly because of the role it plays in cardiovascular performance, glucose metabolism, inflammation, and oxidative stress, the adipokine apelin was recently shown to be a potential regulator of fetal growth and metabolic programming. This review investigated the numerous biological actions of apelin in utero and aimed to shed more light on its role in fetal growth and metabolic programming. The expression of the apelinergic system in a number of tissues indicates its involvement in many physiological mechanisms, including angiogenesis, cell proliferation, energy metabolism, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Moreover, it appears that apelin has a major function in disorders such as diabetes mellitus, fetal growth abnormalities, fetal hypoxia, and preeclampsia. We herein describe in detail the regulatory effects exerted by the adipokine apelin on fetal growth and metabolic programming while stressing the necessity for additional research into the therapeutic potential of apelin and its mechanisms of action in pregnancy-related disorders.
胎盘功能不全和妊娠期糖尿病都是严重的妊娠并发症，它们与胎儿生长改变有关，无论是生长受限还是过度生长，并导致代谢功能障碍、缺氧/氧化损伤和不良围产期结局。尽管该领域已经开展了大量研究，但潜在的发病机制尚未完全阐明。特别是由于脂肪因子阿片肽在心血管功能、葡萄糖代谢、炎症和氧化应激中所起的作用，最近它被证明是胎儿生长和代谢编程的潜在调节因子。本综述研究了阿片肽在子宫内的多种生物学作用，旨在进一步阐明其在胎儿生长和代谢编程中的作用。阿片肽能系统在许多组织中的表达表明它参与了许多生理机制，包括血管生成、细胞增殖、能量代谢、炎症和氧化应激。此外，阿片肽似乎在糖尿病、胎儿生长异常、胎儿缺氧和子痫前期等疾病中起主要作用。我们在此详细描述了脂肪因子阿片肽对胎儿生长和代谢编程的调节作用，同时强调有必要进一步研究阿片肽在妊娠相关疾病中的治疗潜力及其作用机制。
