pregnancy
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Pregnancy and the brain
Inflammation and Pregancy
Talk(1): Fetal and maternal NLRP3 signaling is required for preterm labor and birth. (DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.158238) Talk(2): Maternal IL-33 critically regulates tissue remodeling and type 2 immune responses in the uterus during early pregnancy in mice (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2123267119)
Identification and treatment of advanced, rupture-prone plaques to reduce cardiovascular mortality
Atherosclerosis is the underlying cause of major cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke. The build-up of plaque in coronary arteries can be a major risk for events, but risk is significantly higher in patients with vulnerable rather than stable plaque. Diagnostic imaging of vulnerable plaque is extremely useful for both stratifying patient risk and for determining effectiveness of experimental intervention in reducing cardiovascular risk. In the preclinical setting, being able to distinguish between stable and vulnerable plaque development and pair this with biochemical measures is critical for identification of new experimental candidates. In this webinar, Professor Stephen Nicholls and Dr Kristen Bubb from the Victorian Heart Institute will discuss the benefits of being able to visualise vulnerable plaque for both clinical and preclinical research. Professor Stephen Nicholls is a clinician-researcher and the Head of the Victorian Heart Institute. He is the lead investigator on multiple large, international, cardiovascular outcomes trials. He has attracted over $100 million in direct research funding and published more than 400 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He is focused on both therapeutic intervention to reduce vascular inflammation and lipid accumulation and precision medicine approaches to prevent cardiovascular mortality. Dr Kristen Bubb is a biomedical researcher and Group Leader within the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute Cardiovascular Program and Victorian Heart Institute. She focuses on preclinical/translational research into mechanisms underlying vascular pathologies including atherosclerosis and endothelium-driven hypertension within specific vascular systems, including pulmonary and pregnancy-induced. She has published >30 high impact papers in leading cardiovascular journals and attracted category 1&2 funding of >$750,000.
Role of Oxytocin in regulating microglia functions to prevent brain damage of the developing brain
Every year, 30 million infants worldwide are delivered after intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) and 15 million are born preterm. These two conditions are the leading causes of ante/perinatal stress and brain injury responsible for neurocognitive and behavioral disorders in more than 9 million children each year. Both prematurity and IUGR are associated with perinatal systemic inflammation, a key factor associated with neuroinflammation and identified to be the best predictor of subsequent neurological impairments. Most of pharmacological candidates have failed to demonstrate any beneficial effect to prevent perinatal brain damage. In contrast, environmental enrichment based on developmental care, skin-to-skin contact and vocal/music intervention appears to confer positive effects on brain structure and function. However, mechanisms underlying these effects remain unknown. There is strong evidence that an adverse environment during pregnancy and the perinatal period can influence hormonal responses of the newborn with long-lasting neurobehavioral consequences in infancy and adulthood. Excessive cortisol release in response to perinatal stress induces pro-inflammatory and brain-programming effects. These deleterious effects are known to be balanced by Oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide playing a key role during the perinatal period and parturition, in social behavior and regulating the central inflammatory response to injury in the adult brain. Using a rodent model of IUGR associated with perinatal brain damage, we recently reported that Carbetocin, a brain permeable long-lasting OT receptor (OTR) agonist, was associated with a significant reduction of activated microglia, the primary immune cells of the brain. Moreover this reduced microglia reactivity was associated to a long-term neuroprotection. These findings make OT a promising candidate for neonatal neuroprotection through neuroinflammation regulation. However, the causality between the endogenous OT and central inflammation response to injury has not been established and will be further studied by the lab.
Evidence of working memory impairment at 8-11 months postpartum in women with history of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy
Inhaled Cannabis Delivery during Pregnancy: Effects on Fetal Brain, Endocannabinoid, and Immune System Development in Rats
Maternal high-energy diet during pregnancy and lactation impairs offspring neurogenesis in phenotype-dependent manner
Maternal SARS CoV-2 infection during pregnancy and infant neurobehavior at 6-11 months
Maternal high-fat diet consumption during pregnancy and lactation impairs the inhibitory synaptic transmission in hippocampal pyramidal neurons of the young mouse offspring
Pregnancy-induced induction of parental behaviour
Associations between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and white matter integrity in infants
FENS Forum 2024
Maternal infection during pregnancy induces fetal neuroinflammation, associated with premature oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelin formation, driven by epigenetic changes in oligodendrocyte-specific genes
FENS Forum 2024
Maternal consumption of a high-fat diet from pre-pregnancy to lactation impairs cognitive processes and inhibitory synaptic transmission of hippocampal neurons in mouse offspring
FENS Forum 2024
Fasting exposure during early pregnancy elicits schizophrenia-like behavioral changes in male offspring associated with impaired synaptic spine density
FENS Forum 2024
Pregnancy-responsive pools of adult neural stem cells for transient neurogenesis in mothers
FENS Forum 2024
The modulatory effects of probiotic administration during pregnancy on offspring neurodevelopmental outcomes under prenatal stress conditions
FENS Forum 2024
Spatio-temporal recruitment of adult neural stem cells during pregnancy for transient neurogenesis
pregnancy coverage
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