Cell proliferation and death in placenta associated with fetal growth restriction.

MARINO, ANACLARA; MARVALDI, CAROLINA; SCHANDER, JULIETA AYLEN; WOLFSON, MANUEL LUIS; FRANCHI, ANA MARIA; AISEMBERG, JULIETA

Modo virtual

Congreso; SSR virtual; 2020

Society for the Study of Reproduction

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a condition whereby a fetus is unable to achieve its genetically determined potential size. Prenatal stress is one of the causes that alter the intrauterine environment, which affects the normal development and function of the placenta, and the fetal growth. Furthermore, IUGR is associated with placental dysfunction, where altered trophoblast cells turnover and function contribute to reduced feto-placental growth. The balance between placental cell proliferation and death is a key point during the development of the fetus. The aim of this work was to study the differences in cell proliferation, apoptosis and autophagy in placental tissue in normal and IUGR placentas. The IUGR mouse model used was animals treated with a synthetic glucocorticoid during late pregnancy to cause growth restriction. Pregnant BALB/c mice received 8 mg/kg (s.c.) of dexamethasone between days 14 and 15 of pregnancy. The control group was sham-treated with saline. Prenatal glucocorticoid treatment not only induced fetal growth restriction but also decreased placental weight. Placental tissue from pregnant animals was dissected on gestational days 15 to 18 and processed for Western Blot and RT-qPCR analysis. The results were analyzed with a one-way ANOVA and Tukey test (p