Fetally-encoded GDF15 and maternal GDF15 sensitivity are major determinants of nausea and vomiting in human pregnancy.

ABSTRACT: Human pregnancy is frequently accompanied by nausea and vomiting that may become severe and life-threatening, as in hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), the cause of which is unknown. Growth Differentiation Factor-15 (GDF15), a hormone known to act on the hindbrain to cause emesis, is highly expressed in the placenta and its levels in maternal blood rise rapidly in pregnancy. Variants in the maternal GDF15 gene are associated with HG. Here we report that fetal production of GDF15, and maternal sensitivity to it, both contribute substantially to the risk of HG. We found that the great majority of GDF15 in maternal circulation is derived from the feto-placental unit and that higher GDF15 levels in maternal blood are associated with vomiting and are further elevated in patients with HG. Conver

SUBMITTER: Fejzo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10312505 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature