Whether vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF) plays an augmented role during pregnancy is unknown. In this thesis expression of VEGF in the placenta, maternal circulation and organs in mice was examined using qRT-PCR, LacZ expression, and/or ELISAs. Normal pregnancies and pregnancies with transgenic conceptuses that over-express VEGF in the placenta were examined. In normal pregnancies, VEGF120/164 levels in the ovary increased in parallel with that of the maternal circulation. In pregnancies where the placenta over-expressed VEGF, maternal circulating VEGF120/164 levels decreased and so did levels in the maternal ovary. Surprisingly, VEGF protein levels (per mg of total protein) decreased in the growing, highly vascular placenta during pregnancy. In conclusion this thesis provides evidence for an important ovarian source of maternal circulating VEGF120/164 during pregnancy.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/42885 |
| Date | 27 November 2013 |
| Creators | Minhas, Abhijeet |
| Contributors | Adamson, Susan Lee |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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