What is it about?
The findings within this research article provide evidence that maternal obesity (fat) drives abnormal placental development and fetal growth restriction during preeclampsia through the fat-associated hormone leptin. Preeclampsia is a devastating disorder of pregnancy whereby mothers have increased blood pressure and multiorgan failure, and offspring are growth restricted and/or born preterm. There is no cure for preeclampsia.
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Why is it important?
Maternal obesity predisposes women to develop preeclampsia. However, obesity is reversible. With maternal weight loss, and reduction of fat and leptin, pregnancy outcomes were improved in our genetic model of preeclampsia.
Perspectives
This groundbreaking discovery supports a metabolic basis for the pregnancy disorder, preeclampsia, in women that suffer from obesity. Monitored food intake in mice with preeclampsia prevents increased blood pressure in dams and offspring do not develop fetal growth restriction. Furthermore, hypoxia and excess leptin are attenuated at the maternal-fetal interface. This research stands to impact women's health by providing mechanistic ways for improving pregnancy outcomes in both mom and baby.
Jenny Sones
Colorado State University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Reversal of maternal obesity attenuates hypoxia and improves placental development in the preeclamptic-like BPH/5 mouse model, BIOCELL, January 2023, Tsinghua University Press,
DOI: 10.32604/biocell.2023.029644.
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