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Fetal exposure to excess glucocorticoids has been proposed as a key determinant of pregnancy outcome, as well as a predictor of long term health of the offspring through a phenomenon known as ‘developmental programming’. Obesity and ‘stress’ during pregnancy are two potential sources of altered fetal exposure to glucocorticoids. One in five pregnant women is obese at antenatal booking, and maternal obesity increases risk of offspring complications including higher birth weight, potentially leading to long-term programming effects on the offspring. Likewise, maternal anxiety during pregnancy has been identified as a programming factor, increasing the risk of psychopathology in the offspring. This thesis tests the hypothesis that in humans this association is mediated by altered action of glucocorticoids, by examining circulating levels of maternal glucocorticoids during pregnancy and through measurement of key genes in the placenta regulating fetal glucocorticoid exposure. Serum cortisol levels were measured at 16, 28 and 36 weeks gestation in n=173 class III obese (BMI 44.0±4.5kg/m2) and n=107 lean (BMI 22.8±1.6kg/m2) pregnant women. Serial corticosteroid binding globulin (CBG) concentrations were measured in a subset (n=39 lean, 26 obese) and free cortisol levels calculated using Coolen’s equation. CRH concentrations were measured at the same time points in obese (n=20) and lean (n=22) pregnant women Salivary cortisol was measured in samples collected at bed-time, waking and 30 minutes after waking. mRNA levels of candidate genes regulating glucocorticoids and fetal/placental growth including 11-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11βHSD2), which inactivates cortisol, insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) were measured in first trimester (n=32), second trimester (n=15) and term (n=60) placental samples. DNA methylation of key regions controlling the expression of the IGF2, GR and 11βHSD2 genes was measured by pyrosequencing in first trimester and term samples. Levels of mRNAs encoding 11βHSD1, 11βHSD2, GR and MR were measured in term placentas collected from women from Helsinki, Finland in whom anxiety during pregnancy had been prospectively assessed using validated questionnaires. Term placental samples from a subset of the obese and lean women who had also completed stress questionnaires during pregnancy were used to examine replication of findings. Cortisol levels rose similarly during pregnancy in obese and lean but were significantly lower throughout pregnancy in obese women (p<0.05). The diurnal rhythm of cortisol was maintained. CBG levels also increased, though this change was lower in obese (1.21-fold (±0.9) vs 1.56-fold (±0.07), p<0.01). In obese women, lower calculated free cortisol at 16 weeks gestation was associated with higher birth weight after adjustment for other factors (r=-0.46, p<0.05). Placental mRNA encoding 11βHSD2 increased in association with increasing obesity in early pregnancy (r=0.44, p<0.01) and was highest in term placenta in obese women with macrosomic (>4000g) offspring (p<0.05). Placental transcript abundance of GR also increased in association with increasing obesity in early pregnancy (r=0.38, p<0.05), but was lowest in term placenta from obese with macrosomic offspring (p<0.05). IGF2 mRNA abundance was lower in the placentas of obese women with macrosomic offspring at term compared to both lean women and obese women with normal weight offspring (p<0.01). Methylation results are reported. Placental mRNA levels encoding 11βHSD1 (which converts inactive cortisone to active cortisol) at term was found to positively associate with maternal anxiety measured in the first trimester of pregnancy in a group of pregnant Finnish women (β=0.3, p<0.05). Findings were similar in the replication sample in lean women only (β=4.6, p<0.05). Lower circulating and bioavailable cortisol levels in early pregnancy, together with a greater placental ‘barrier’ to maternal glucocorticoids represent key mechanisms contributing to higher birth weight in offspring of obese women. Regeneration of active glucocorticoids in placenta and increasing placental sensitivity to glucocorticoids increases fetal glucocorticoid exposure and offers insight into the biological mechanisms underlying adverse offspring effects of maternal prenatal anxiety.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Pregnancies complicated with diabetes mellitus (DM) are associated with poor maternal and fetal outcomes, such as birth trauma, fetal overgrowth (macrosomia) and programming of the fetus to develop metabolic syndrome in adult life. Maternal hyperglycemia is thought to contribute to fetal macrosomia, however the role of the placenta in these pregnancies is incompletely understood, therefore we aimed to investigate the specific consequences of high glucose on placental metabolism. To achieve this aim an in vitro model of placental exposure to high glucose was developed. This model was used with the aim of analysing how high glucose alters the transcriptome and metabolome of these cells, using a systems biology approach to identify candidate functional pathways which may be altered in placenta as a result of hyperglycemia. These candidate functional pathways were validated in an ex vivo model of placenta exposed to high glucose and in placental tissue from pregnancies complicated by DM. A trophoblast cell line (BeWo) was cultured in low (5 mM) and high (12 mM or 25 mM) D-glucose conditions for 48 hours. Transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of these cells was performed using microarrays, and gas- and liquid-chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. Transcript and metabolite changes were independently analysed and integrated, using network analysis. From the integrated analysis of the ‘omic datasets, β-fatty acid oxidation (β-FAO), purine metabolism, phosphatidylinositol/PI3K phosphate pathway and lipid metabolism, were identified as candidates for further study. Changes within the PI3K pathway and lipid metabolism/β-fatty acid oxidation were validated in an ex vivo placental explant model of high glucose and in placental tissue from women with DM, compared to uncomplicated pregnancies. mRNA, protein expression and protein activation of key molecules within the PI3K pathway were not significantly altered in placenta as a response of high glucose ex vivo or DM in vivo. The second candidate functional pathway, lipid metabolism, has previously been implicated in association with placental dysfunction in pregnancies complicated by DM. Placental fatty acid transporter and lipase protein expression, as well as, relative abundance of different fatty acids were unaltered in response to high glucose or DM. High glucose levels increased triglyceride levels within the placenta, indicating reduced rates of β-FAO. The effect of high glucose could be ameliorated using a PPARα agonist. This may provide a novel therapeutic intervention to prevent excess esterification of fatty acids to triglycerides in maternal diabetes, which may in turn influence fetal growth. This study illustrates how a systems biology approach can be used to identify novel candidate functional pathways that are altered within the trophoblast in response to high glucose. Thus, improving understanding of placental dysfunction in these pregnancies and providing novel candidate pathways for future study, which may represent potential therapeutic targets for intervention of fetal macrosomia in pregnancies complicated by DM.

Uterine NK (uNK) cells are a distinct subset of NK cells in the decidua of humans and rodents during pregnancy, which are essential for remodelling of the spiral arteries supplying the feto-placental unit. Similarly to peripheral NK cells, uNK cells express Natural Killer receptors (NKRs) that engage MHC class I molecules. Evidence from human genetic association studies suggests that, in the presence of allogeneic cognate paternal MHC class I ligands, inhibitory uterine NKRs are associated with disorders of pregnancy arising from impaired decidual vascular remodelling. Conversely, enhancement of human uNK cell activity through activating NKRs is associated with high birth weight. Evidence from mouse models corroborates that uNK cell activity is modulated by interactions between NKRs and MHC class I, but has largely focussed on the effect of paternal MHC. In this study, the contribution of maternal immunogenetic regulation of NK cell function to reproductive outcome was assessed independently of parental MHC disparity in mice. To evaluate the role of NKR genes in isolation, I used congenic B6.BALB-TC1 (TC1) mice that differ from C57BL/6 (B6) mice only within the region of chromosome six encoding NKRs that recognise MHC class I. Absence of a major inhibitory NKR for self-MHC, Ly49I, in TC1 mice causes a compensatory shift in the NKR repertoire expressed and preserves a majority subpopulation of educated NK cells. B6 and TC1 splenic and uterine NK cells are similarly functionally reactive and mature, and no significant differences could be detected in spiral arterial remodelling or fetal growth between these strains in MHC-syngeneic matings. This supports data from human immunogenetic studies showing that maternal uterine NKRs are not associated with differences in pregnancy outcome in the absence of novel paternal MHC class I ligands, and highlights the importance of maternal and paternal co-regulation of uNK cell activity during pregnancy. No mouse models of uNK cell activation are currently available with which to corroborate human immunogenetic associations between activating uterine NKRs and high birth weight. Male m157-transgenic (m157-Tg) mice, which ubiquitously express viral m157 glycoprotein ligands for the activating NKR Ly49H, were mated with B6 females. Exclusive expression of m157 glycoprotein by trophoblast improved placental efficiency, but did not enhance fetal growth. Some fertility clinics surmise that uNK cell activation initiates the pathogenesis of spontaneous abortion. It has been suggested that this may occur due to reduced expression by human uNK cells of miR-483-3p, which stimulates endogenous insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 production and uNK cell cytotoxicity in vitro. It is demonstrated here that neither miR-483-3p nor IGF-1 regulate murine NK cell development, maturation or function. No discernible reproductive phenotype is evident in miR-483 deficient females. It can be inferred that post-transcriptional control by miR-483 is not biologically relevant to murine NK cell function. Although m157-Tg mice may provide an interesting model to further study uNK cell-mediated placental adaptations, it remains important to identify a murine model of enhanced uNK cell function to corroborate human immunogenetic associations with high birth weight and to challenge the supposition that uNK cell activation is harmful to pregnancy.

<p>Uprkos op&scaron;te prihvaćenom stavu da u trudnoći lekove treba izbegavati, veliki broj trudnica tokom trudnoće uzima lekove sa manje ili vi&scaron;e opravdanja. Primena lekova u trudnoći zahteva dodatnu patnju, jer se mora voditi računa o zdravlju majke i zdravlju jo&scaron; nerođenog&nbsp; deteta. Većina lekova koji nalaze primenu u trudnoći, nisu ispitani u kontrolisanim studijama na trudnicama, već se njihov uticaj naljudski fetus, bazira na predpostavkama i kliničkim istraživanjima na životinjama. Odsustvo studija dovodi do toga da se trudnicama obično prepisuju lekovi u dozi za odrasle osobe, koje ne prate fiziolo&scaron;ke promene u trudnoći. Tokom trudnoće u telu trudnica dolazi do promena u funkciji organa i organskih sistema, a zbog nastalih promena menja se i sudbina leka u organizmu. Sistemske bolesti trudnice poput hipertenzije i dijabetesa dovode do hemodinamskih promena i utiču na nastanak patolo&scaron;kih promena posteljice, &scaron;to sve zajedno menja farmakokinetiku lekova i njihov transplacentrarni transport. Ukupno 75 trudnica je uključeno u studiju i podeljeno u tri grupe: zdrave trudnice-kontrolna grupa (n=31), trudnice sa hipertenzijom (n=30) i trudnice sa dijabetesom (n=14). Sve trudnice su u premedikaciji primile iste lekove koji su deo standardne kliničke&nbsp; procedure. Trudnice su primile jednu dozu diazepama intramuskularnom injekcijom (10mg/2ml), a intravenski su primile pojedinačne doze cefuroksima (1,5g), metoklopramida (10mg/2ml) i ranitidina (50mg/2ml). Od svakog para majka-dete ukupno je analizirano po 5 uzoraka. Uzorci krvi od majke uzimani su u tri vremenske tačke: nakon davanja leka, u momentu ekstrakcije deteta i nakon porođaja. Uzorci&nbsp; krvi&nbsp; deteta&nbsp; uzimani su&nbsp; nakon&nbsp; porođaja iz pupčane vene i arterije. Prikupljeni uzorci plazme analizirani su metodom tečne hromatografije visokih performansi (HPLC). Istraživanje je pokazalo da lekovi&nbsp; primenjeni u premedikaciji&nbsp; carskog reza prolaze transplacentarnu membranu i da se ni jedan&nbsp; od&nbsp; lekova&nbsp; primenjenih&nbsp; u studiji nije akumulirao u fetusu i nije imao neželjeno dejsvo na novorođenče. Cefuroksim, ranitidin i metoklopramid pokazali su nizak feto-maternalni transfer, dok je diazepam pokazao visok&nbsp; feto-maternalni transfer. Izmerene koncentracije cefuroksima u plazmi trudnica u momentu porođaja bile su &ge;8 &mu;g/ml, &scaron;to je koncentracija veća od MIC za većinu patogena odgovornih za nastavak infekcija u aku&scaron;erstvu. Koncentracije cefuroksima u fetalnoj plazmi bile su &ge;4&mu;g/ml &scaron;to je veće od&nbsp; MIC koncentracija za veliki broj patogena. Gestacijska starost trudnoće nije uticala na obim prolaska cefuroksima&nbsp; kroz placentu, koji je prolazi uglavnom pasivnom difuzijom. Farmakokinetski parametri cefuroksima razlikovali su se kod hipertenzivnih i dijabetičnih trudnica, u odnosu kontrolnu grupu, ali ove bolesti nisu imale značajan uticaj na smanjenje terapijske efikasnosti cefuroksima. Farmakokinetika cefuroksima kod hipertenzivnih&nbsp; trudnica&nbsp; ukazala je na bržu eliminaciju cefuroksima iz krvi majke i na veću distribuciju leka u okolna tkiva. U dijabetičnoj grupi trudnica i novorođenčadi koncentracije cefuroksima su bile vi&scaron;e u odnosu na druge ispitivane grupe, dok je feto-maternalni odnos bio niži, &scaron;to ukazuje na postojanje strukturalne i funkcionalne pomenu posteljice u dijabetesu. Hipertenzija i dijabetes trudnica nisu imali uticaj na prodor ranitidina kroz placentu. Hipertenzija i dijabetes trudnica nisu uticali na većinu farmakokinetskih parametara ranitidina, mada je zabeleženo smanjenje volumena distribucije u ovim grupama trudnica, &scaron;to bi moglo da ukazuje na njihovu hemodinamsku nestabilnost i povećanje slobodne frakcije ranitidina. Koncentracija metoklopramida bila veća u krvi majki u odnosu na krv fetusa. Transport metoklopramida iz fetusa ka majci bio je dominantniji, a naročito u hipertenzivnoj i dijabetičnoj grupi trudnica. Hipertenzija i dijabetes trudnica uticali su na zadržavanje metoklopramida u fetusu. Koncentracije dijazepama u majčinoj i fetalnoj krvi bile su vi&scaron;e u kontrolnoj i hipertenzivnoj grupi trudnica. Hipertenzija i dijabetes trudnica povećavaju&nbsp; transfer diazepama kroz placentu, povećanjem koncentracije slobodnih masnih kiselina, steroidnih hormona, smanjenjem vezivnog kapaciteta potencijalna opasnost od neželjenog dejstva diazepama i njegovih metabolita na fetus i novorođenče. Ova doktorska studija ukazuju na potrebu obimnijih farmakokinetskih istraživanja kako na zdravim tako i na bolesnim trudnicama, koja će dati zaključke utvrđene na dokazima i pomoći u individualnom terapijskom pristupu svakoj trudnici.</p> / <p>In spite of&nbsp; the widespread opinion&nbsp; that&nbsp; drugs should be avoided in pregnancy, a great number of&nbsp; pregnant&nbsp; women&nbsp; take drugs with more or less justification.&nbsp; Administration of drugs in pregnancy requires additional attention because the health of&nbsp; both the mother and&nbsp; her unborn child must be protected. Majority of drugs administered in pregnancy have not been tested&nbsp; within the controlled studies performed on pregnant women, but&nbsp; their effect on the human foetus is based on assumptions and clinical trials performed on animals. This absence of studies results in the situation that pregnant&nbsp; women are usually prescribed drugs in a dose&nbsp; for adults, which does not take into account the physiological changes happening in pregnancy. During pregnancy, the pregnant woman&rsquo;s body undergoes changes in the<br />functions of organs and organ systems. These changes further affect the destiny of a&nbsp; drug in the organism. In pregnant women, systemic diseases such as hypertension&nbsp;&nbsp; and diabetes mellitus lead to hemodynamic changes and cause pathological&nbsp; changes in placenta, thus changing the pharmacokinetics of drugs and their transplacental transport. The study sample consisted of 75 pregnant women, who were divided into three groups as follows: the control group included healthy pregnant&nbsp; women (n=31), a group of pregnant women&nbsp; with&nbsp; hypertension (n=30) and&nbsp; a group of&nbsp; those&nbsp; with&nbsp; diabetes mellitus (n=14). All of them were administered the same drugs as a part of standard clinical procedure in premedication. The pregnant women received a single dose of diazepam by intramuscular injection (10mg/ml), and individual doses of cefuroxime (1.5mg), metoclopramide (10mg/2ml) and ranitidine (50mg/2ml). Five samples taken from each mother-infant pair were analyzed. Blood samples were taken from the mother three times: after drug administration, at the moment of extraction of baby and after delivery. Baby&rsquo;s blood samples were taken from the umbilical cord vein and artery after delivery. Plasma samples were analyzed by the method of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The research has shown that drugs administered in premedication of caesarean section went through the transplacental membrane and that none of the tested drugs accumulated in the foetus and had an adverse effect on the newborn. Cefuroxime, ranitidine and metoclopramide were shown to have a low transfer between the mother and her foetus, whereas diazepam showed a high foetal-maternal transfer. Cefuroxime concentrations measured in the pregnant woman&rsquo;s and foetal plasma at the moment of delivery were &ge;8&mu;g/ml and &ge;4&mu;g/ml, respectively, that&nbsp; being above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for most pathogens responsible for the development of infection in obstetrics. Gestational age had no effect on the range of cefuroxime flow through the placenta, which happens mostly by&nbsp; passive diffusion. Pharmacokinetic parameters of cefuroxime differed in the pregnant&nbsp; women having hypertension and diabetes mellitus from the controls; however, these diseases did not significantly reduce the therapeutic efficacy of cefuroxime. Pharmacokinetics of cefuroxime indicated faster elimination of&nbsp; cefuroxime into the maternal blood and greater distribution of the drug into the surrounding tissues in the hypertensive pregnant women. In the group consisting of pregnant women and newborns having diabetes, the cefuroxime concentrations were higher than in other groups, whereas foetal-maternal relation was lower, which suggests the presence of structural and functional change in the placenta in diabetes. Hypertension and diabetes mellitus had no affect either on the flow of ranitidine through the placenta in the pregnant women or on&nbsp; the&nbsp; majority of pharmacokinetic parameters of ranitidine, although a certain reduction in the volume&nbsp; of distribution was recorded in these groups of pregnant women, which could suggest their hemodynamic instability and increased free fractions of ranitidine. The concentration of metocloporamide was higher in the maternal blood than in the&nbsp; foetal blood, and&nbsp; the transport of metocloporamide from the foetus towards the mother was more dominant, particularly in&nbsp; the&nbsp; group of&nbsp; hypertensive and diabetic&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; pregnant women. Metoclopramide tended to retain in the foetuses of mothers having&nbsp; hypertension and diabetes. The concentrations of diazepam in maternal and foetal blood were higher in the controls&nbsp; and hypertensive&nbsp; pregnant&nbsp; women. Hypertension and diabetes in pregnant&nbsp; women increase the transfer of diazepam through the placenta by increasing the concentration of free fatty acids and steroid hormones and by reducing the binding capacity of carrier proteins and the concentration of plasma&nbsp;&nbsp; proteins, thus increasing the potential danger of adverse effects of diazepam and its metabolites on the foetus and the newborn. This doctoral study suggests the necessity for more extensive pharmacokinetic research including both healthy and affected pregnant women that would lead to conclusions based on evidence and help to develop individual therapeutic approach to each pregnant woman.</p>