Magnetic Resonance Imaging Detects Placental Hypoxia and Acidosis in Mouse Models of Perturbed Pregnancies |
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| Authors: | Gabriele Bobek Tim Stait-Gardner Laura Surmon Angela Makris Joanne M. Lind William S. Price Annemarie Hennessy |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia.; 2. Nanoscale Organisation and Dynamics, School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.; 3. The Heart Research Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.; 4. Liverpool Hospital, Renal Unit Liverpool, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia.; Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany, |
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| Abstract: | Endothelial dysfunction as a result of dysregulation of anti-angiogenic molecules secreted by the placenta leads to the maternal hypertensive response characteristic of the pregnancy complication of preeclampsia. Structural abnormalities in the placenta have been proposed to result in altered placental perfusion, placental oxidative stress, cellular damage and inflammation and the release of anti-angiogenic compounds into the maternal circulation. The exact link between these factors is unclear. Here we show, using Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a tool to examine placental changes in mouse models of perturbed pregnancies, that T2 contrast between distinct regions of the placenta is abolished at complete loss of blood flow. Alterations in T2 (spin-spin or transverse) relaxation times are explained as a consequence of hypoxia and acidosis within the tissue. Similar changes are observed in perturbed pregnancies, indicating that acidosis as well as hypoxia may be a feature of pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and may play a prominent role in the signalling pathways that lead to the increased secretion of anti-angiogenic compounds. |
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