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The Role of the Placenta in Fetal Programming

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Hormones, Intrauterine Health and Programming

Part of the book series: Research and Perspectives in Endocrine Interactions ((RPEI,volume 12))

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Abstract

The placenta occupies a critical place in fetal programming by modulating fetal responses to alterations in the maternal environment, by regulating transfer of nutrients between mother and fetus and by responding to changes in environmental stimuli that affect maternal and/or fetal physiology. Placental size and function are exquisitely sensitive to alterations in maternal nutrition, oxygen tension and exposure to glucocorticoids. These factors affect the activity of proteins such as the System A transporter that shuttles neutral amino acids to the fetus, the activity of cells such as those producing placental lactogen, a key metabolic hormone of pregnancy, and the generation of peptides such as the urocortins, members of the corticotrophin releasing hormone family with pro-and anti-inflammatory activities, and placental 11βhydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-2, which regulates placental metabolism of maternal cortisol. Maternal administration of exogenous synthetic glucocorticoid bypasses this metabolic barrier, programming reductions in fetal body weight and composition, and changing development of the fetal neurologic, pancreatic and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axes, leading to altered stress and inflammatory responses, cardiovascular activity and predisposition to insulin resistance in later life. Interestingly, many of these placental functions appear to be regulated in a manner that is dependent upon the sex of the fetus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    John Challis

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia

    John Challis, Shaofu Li, Thorsten Braun & John Newnham

  3. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada, V5A 1S6

    John Challis

  4. Department of Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Debora Sloboda

  5. Departments of Obstetrics and Experimental Obstetrics, Study Group in Perinatal Programming, Charite Campus Virchow, Berlin, Germany

    Thorsten Braun

  6. Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Frank Bloomfield

  7. Faculties of Life Sciences and Medical and Human Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Ghazala Begum & Anne White

  8. Division of Reproductive Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Felice Petraglia

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  1. John Challis
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  2. Debora Sloboda
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  3. Shaofu Li
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  4. Thorsten Braun
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  5. Frank Bloomfield
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  6. Ghazala Begum
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  7. Anne White
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  8. Felice Petraglia
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  9. John Newnham
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Correspondence to John Challis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Endocrinology Unit, University of Edinburgh Queen's Medical Research Inst, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

    Jonathan R Seckl

  2. Fondation IPSEN, Boulogne-Billancourt Cedex, France

    Yves Christen

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Challis, J. et al. (2014). The Role of the Placenta in Fetal Programming. In: Seckl, J., Christen, Y. (eds) Hormones, Intrauterine Health and Programming. Research and Perspectives in Endocrine Interactions, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02591-9_5

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