Immuno-electron-microscopic localization of types III pN-collagen and IV collagen,laminin and tenascin in developing and adult human spleen

The distribution of the extracellular matrix proteins types III pN-collagen and IV collagen, laminin and tenascin was investigated in fetal, infant, and adult human spleens by using immuno-electron microscopy. The presence of type III pN-collagen was assessed by using an antibody against the aminoterminal propeptide of type III procollagen. All the proteins other than type III pN-collagen were found in reticular fibers throughout development. In the white pulp of the fetus aged 16 gestational weeks, only an occasional type III pN-collagen-containing fibril was present, although type III pN-collagen was abundant in the reticular fibers of the red pulp. Conversely, in adults, most of the reticular fibers of the white pulp, but not of the red pulp, were immunoreactive for type III pN-collagen. Ring fibers, the basement membranes of venous sinuses, were well developed in both infant and adult spleens. The first signs of their formation could be seen as a discontinuous basement membrane, which was immunoreactive for type IV collagen, laminin, and tenascin in the fetus aged 20 gestational weeks. Intracytoplasmic immunoreactivity for all the proteins studied was visible in the mesenchymal cells of the fetus aged 16 gestational weeks and in the reticular cells of the older fetuses, which also showed labeling for type IV collagen and laminin in the endothelial cells. The results suggest that proteins of the extracellular matrix are produced by these stationary cells.     

产前胎儿磁共振成像的临床应用及研究进展

出生缺陷已经成为影响我国人口素质的重要卫生问题,产前诊断是减少患儿出生缺陷的有效预防手段和措施。作为产前超声诊断重要补充的手段,胎儿MRI检查具有多方位、多参数、高质量、大视野成像的特点。尤其在中枢神经系统方面具有US无法比拟的优势,随着宫内治疗技术的开展和提高,其潜在的价值和应用前景越来越明显。近年来,随着各种快速MR成像方法的应用,胎儿MRI研究有了很大进步,不仅能有效地评估胎儿的正常解剖、发育变异及病理改变,而且功能MRI也正积极尝试用于胎儿正常发育及疾病的研究中。正硝地解释胎儿MRI的影像学表现仍是今后一段时间内胎儿MRI研究的方向。客观地认识MRI在产前检查中的优势与劣势、合理地应用不同的成像序列,有利于更准确地检出病变。     

Elabela and Apelin actions in healthy and pathological pregnancies

Pregnancy is a dynamic and precisely organized process during which one or more baby develops. Embryonic development relies on the formation of the placenta, allowing nutrient and oxygen exchange between the mother and the fetus. Dysfunction of placental formation lead to pregnancy disorders such as preeclampsia (PE) with serious deleterious consequences for fetal and maternal health. Identifying factors involved in fetoplacental homeostasis could inform better diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for these pathological pregnancies. Here, we summarize actions of elabela, apelin and their common receptor APJ in the fetoplacental unit. Studies indicate that elabela is crucial for embryo cardiovascular system formation and early placental development, while apelin acts in mid/late gestation to modulate fetal angiogenesis and energy homeostasis. Most of these findings, drawn from animal models, indicate a key role of elabela/apelin-APJ system in the fetoplacental unit. This review also provides an overview of clinical studies investigating elabela/apelin-APJ system in pathological complicated pregnancies such as PE and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). While elabela-deficient mice display all the features of PE, current clinical studies show no difference in circulating elabela levels between PE and control patients which does not support a role in PE development. Conversely, apelin levels are increased during PE, but the use of apelin as an early PE marker remains to be fully investigated.     

采用三次样条拟合胎儿体格发育指标百分位数参考值

目的:生长发育评价标准的最佳形式是年龄别百分位数,然而,目前我国缺乏胎儿的孕周别体格发育指标百分位数评价标准,影响了胎儿宫内生长发育水平的准确评价,本研究拟建立陕西省正常单胎妊娠孕妇胎儿体格发育指标百分位数参考标准。方法:以陕西省西安、汉中、延安5所大型综合医院超声科或妇产科超声室为数据采集点,选择2010-01-01到2010-12-31间进行常规孕期检查的正常单胎妊娠胎儿的超声测量数据,随机抽取一次测量结果,共收集到6832个单胎正常妊娠胎儿的超声测量数据。采用三次样条法对陕西省孕16-41周正常单胎妊娠胎儿的双顶径、腹围、股骨长百分位数进行拟合。结果:三次样条拟合胎儿的双顶径、腹围、股骨长百分位数,各百分位数的决定系数均在0.95以上,均方差均在各指标重复测量的容许误差内,拟合结果满意。计算出了胎儿的孕周别双顶径、腹围、股骨长的P3、P10、P25、P50、P75、P90、P97百分位数。结论:三次样条兼顾了曲线拟合中的拟合优度和光滑度,能更好的实现曲线拟合的目的。所建立的孕周别胎儿体格发育指标百分位数符合胎儿宫内生长发育规律,为胎儿宫内生长发育的准确评价提供了科学、准确的评价工具,可用于产科临床和研究工作中。     

Regional variation in adipogenesis and IGF regulatory proteins in the fetal baboon

Intrauterine growth rate is associated with body distribution in adulthood suggesting differential response of fetal fat depots to nutritional modifications. We hypothesize that there is regional differences in fetal adipogenesis, in part, due to depot-specific regulation of the availability of insulin growth factors. In near-term baboon fetuses (n = 3-5), the subcutaneous abdominal vs. omental preadipocytes had (1) more extensive lipid accumulation as assessed by BODIPY (lipid staining) to DAPI (nuclei) absorbance ratios (mean ± SEM; 0.51 ± 0.21, 0.35 ± 0.09, p < 0.05), (2) lower (p < 0.05) secretion of IGF-binding protein 4 (9.6 ± 1.2 vs. 17.4 ± 2.8 ng/ml) and its protease pregnancy associated plasma protein A (24.6 ± 1.9 vs. 39.1 ± 6.3 μIU/ml), (3) lower protein expression of IGF2 “clearance” receptor in cell lysate (0.28 ± 0.03 vs. 0.53 ± 0.02 OD U/mm², p < 0.05); all variables were intermediate in femoral preadipocytes. The regional variation of the adipogenesis and the IGF regulatory pathway set the stage for differential responsiveness of fat depots to external signals.     

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 inhibits parathyroid hormone-related peptide mRNA expression in fetal rat long bones in culture

Summary When fetal rat long bones are incubated in the presence of 10⁻⁸ M 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ [1,25(OH)₂D₃], steady-state parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) mRNA levels are decreased. This decrease is temporary: it is observed as soon as after 3 h of exposure and reaches a nadir after 6 h. At that time, PTHrP mRNA levels are significantly lower in the experimental than in the control bones. However the inhibitory effect vanishes after 24 h, despite continuous exposure to 1,25(OH)₂D₃ for even 48 h. This is the first report showing that PTHrP mRNA expression can be regulated in rat fetal long bones in vitro by 1,25(OH)₂D₃.     

The effects of maternal dietary treatments with natural PPAR ligands on lipid metabolism in fetuses from control and diabetic rats

Maternal diabetes impairs fetal development and growth. We studied the effects of maternal diets enriched in unsaturated fatty acids capable of activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) on the concentrations of 15deoxyΔ^12,14PGJ₂ (15dPGJ₂), lipid mass, and the de novo lipid synthesis in 13.5-day fetuses from control and diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by neonatal streptozotocin administration (90 mg/kg). Rats were treated with a standard diet supplemented or not with 6% olive oil or 6% safflower oil from days 0.5 to 13.5 of gestation. Fetuses from diabetic rats fed with the standard diet showed reduced 15dPGJ₂ concentrations, whereas maternal treatments with olive and safflower oils increased 15dPGJ₂ concentrations. Fetuses from diabetic rats showed increased concentrations of phospholipids and increased synthesis of triglycerides, phospholipids, cholesterol and free fatty acids. Diabetic rat treatments with olive and safflower oils reduced phospholipids, cholesterol, and free fatty acid concentrations and the de novo lipid synthesis in the fetuses. These effects were different from those observed in fetuses from control rats, and seem not to involve PPARγ activation. In conclusion, olive oil- and safflower oil-supplemented diets provide beneficial effects in maternal diabetes, as they prevent fetal impairments in 15dPGJ₂ concentrations, lipid synthesis and lipid accumulation.     

Vitamin E sensitive genes in the developing rat fetal brain: a high-density oligonucleotide microarray analysis

Vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols) is essential for normal neurological function. Recently we have reported that the neuroprotective properties of tocotrienols are much more potent than that of the widely studied tocopherols (Sen, C.K., Khanna, S., Roy, S. and Parker, L. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 13049–13055). The objective of this study was to evaluate whether (i) oral supplementation of tocotrienols during pregnancy is bioavailable to fetal and mother brains; (ii) short-term change in dietary vitamin E levels of pregnant rats influences gene expression profile of developing fetal brains. We report that dietary tocotrienol is bioavailable to both mother and fetal brains. The enrichment is more in fetal brain tissue. Using a GeneChip microarray expression profiling approach we have identified a specific set of vitamin E sensitive genes in the developing rat fetal brain.     

Parvalbumin和Calbindin－D28k负疫反应神经元在人胎视网膜中的分布和发育

本实验采用免疫细胞化学方法观察１９例人胎视网膜内Ｐａｒｖａｌｂｕｍｉｎ（ＰＶ）和Ｃａｌｂｉ－ｄｉｎ－Ｄ２８ｋ（ＣａＢＰ）免疫反应神经元的分布和发育,对它们在人胎视网膜发育中的演变规律进行了研究。结果显示,ＰＶ和ＣａＢＰ免疫反应神经元属于视网膜水平细胞,无长实细胞和节细胞的不同亚群,ＣａＢＰ免疫反应神经元还可能分属于视细胞。ＰＶ和ＣａＢＰ免疫反应神经元的发育主要是在胚胎中期,胎１４周时它们已分别出现于视网膜内的不同部位,其各自的演变规律不同,至胚胎２７周时初步建立了各自的分布模式。在整个发育过程,颞测机网膜内ＰＶ免疫反应神经元的密度及反应强度均高于鼻侧视网膜内的ＰＶ免疫反应神经元,ＰＶ和ＣａＢＰ免疫反应神经元的发育与视网膜的组织发生也有着密切的联系。本文结果提示,ＰＶ和ＣａＢＰ可能在视网膜神经元的分化、迁移及突触形成中分别起着重要的作用。     

Ontogeny of vasopressin and oxytocin in the fetal rat: Early vasopressinergic innervation of the fetal brain

The content and distribution of vasopressin and oxytocin were determined during fetal development in the rat brain and pituitary by means of radioimmunoassay and immunocytochemistry. The vasopressin content in the fetal brain showed a gradual rise from day 16 of pregnancy onwards, while pituitary vasopressin rapidly increased from fetal day 19 until birth. The oxytocin content in the fetal brain was considerably lower than the vasopressin content. A decrease in oxytocin content was seen between day 16 and day 18 while from day 18 of pregnancy onwards a slight increase was found. The pituitary oxytocin content starts to rise between day 17 and 18 of pregnancy, but at term the pituitary oxytocin content was only 1/20 of the vasopressin value. Immunocytochemistry revealed that vasopressin levels in the fetal rat brain were not only due to the presence of the classical hypothalamoneurohypophyseal system, but also to the early development of exohypothalamic fibers. Vasopressin containing cells were seen from fetal day 16 in the supraoptic nucleus, and from fetal day 18 in the paraventricular nucleus. The fiber outgrowth of these cells towards the pituitary and extrahypothalamic brain sites seems to be well synchronized, as on day 17 vasopressin containing fibers could be demonstrated in the olfactory bulb as well as in the median eminence. No positive staining for oxytocin could be obtained in the fetal rat, while during the entire fetal period no positive staining was found in cell bodies in the region of the suprachiasmatic nucleus. The early peptidergic innervation of the brain, which enabled the tracing of the source of some exohypothalamic fibers, might be related to several central processes among which brain development itself is included.