Convergence of MTOR and Glucocorticoid receptor signalling in the human placenta: effects of pre-term labour, nutrition and maternal stress
Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Abstract: A vital factor for foetal development is the nutrient transport at placental level.This is because any disturbances in the maternal compartments, for example due to maternal stress or nutritional status, which will affect foetal development, will involve the foetal-placental barrier.Moreover, numerous studies have linked other factors such as preterm labour as the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality in the developed world.To this date, despite a numerous epidemiological and clinical studies that identify potential risk factors for the mother as well as the foetus, there is no comprehensive analysis at all these levels taken from the same cohort of patients.Our working hypothesis is that for a successful pregnancy certain events at nutritional, biochemical, genetic and molecular level could be tightly linked.Therefore, in this study we followed a "holistic" approach investigating how maternal stress, nutrition, placental mTOR and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) signalling can influence pregnancy outcome.We have decided to map in detail the components of these two signalling pathways as they appear to cross-talk as well as been implicated in stress responses.
Author: D. Mparmpakas
Language: English
Subfield: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W92007901