Project description:Liver transplantation is the only therapeutic option for patients with end-stage liver disease. The shortage of donor organs has led to the search for alternative therapies to restore liver function and bridge patients to transplantation. Our previous work has shown that the proliferation of late gestation E19 fetal hepatocytes is mitogen-independent. This is manifested as differences in the control of ribosome biogenesis, global translation, cell cycle progression and gene expression. In the present study, we investigated whether E19 fetal hepatocytes would engraft and repopulate an injured adult liver. Methods: Fetal hepatocytes were isolated using a monoclonal antibody against a hepatic surface protein, leucine amino peptidase (LAP). LAP+ and LAP- fractions were analyzed by immunofluorescence and microarray. Immunopurified E19 liver cells from DPPIV+ F344 rats were transplanted via splenic injection into partial hepatectomized DPPIV- rats that had been pretreated with mitomycin C. Results: Phenotypic characterization of the LAP+ fetal hepatocytes revealed that more than a third of the isolated cells expressed ductal markers. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that these dual expressing cells represent a distinct subpopulation of less well differentiated hepatocytes. Transplanted immunopurified LAP+ late gestation fetal hepatocytes formed small hepatic, endothelial and occasional ductal colonies within one month. The average size of the colonies derived from the LAP+ cells increased so that by 10 months up to 35% of the liver was repopulated by donor-derived cells. Conclusions: Our studies show that late gestation fetal hepatocytes, despite their being far along in the differentiation process, possess the capacity for extensive liver repopulation. This is likely related to the unexpected presence of a significant proportion of hepatocyte marker-positive cells maintaining a less well differentiated phenotype.
Project description:The late-gestation fetal sheep responds to hypoxia with physiological, neuroendocrine, and cellular responses that aid in fetal survival . The response of the fetus to hypoxia represents a coordinated effort to maximize oxygen transfer from the mother and minimize wasteful oxygen consumption by the fetus. While there have been many studies aimed at investigating the coordinated physiological and endocrine responses to hypoxia, and while immunohistochemical or in situ hybridization studies have revealed pathways supporting the endocrine function of the pituitary, there is little known about the coordinated cellular response of the pituitary to the hypoxia. The objective of this study was to use transcriptomics and systems analysis to determine significantly altered biological processes in the late gestation ovine fetal pituitary one hour after a 30 minute period of hypoxia, produced by lowering the inspired oxygen content in the maternal inspired gas. We found that the acute response to 30 min of transient hypoxia in the late-gestation fetus results in reduced cellular metabolism and a pattern of gene expression that is consistent with cellular oxygen and ATP starvation. The response is not consistent with gene regulation by HIF1A .
Project description:The late-gestation fetal lung has relatively high levels of expression of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) as well as the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), suggesting that endogenous corticosteroids may act in the lung through binding at MR as well as GR. This study was designed to determine the effects of physiologically relevant increases in steroids on MR and GR in the late-gestation lung. The GR agonist, betamethasone, the MR agonist, aldosterone, or both agonists were infused intravenously for 48 hours in ovine fetuses of approximately 130 days gestation. Effects on airway pressures during stepwise inflation of the in situ lung, expression of ENaC and Na,K ATPase, and elastin and collagen content were determined at the end of the infusions. We found that aldosterone significantly reduced the initial airway pressures measured in situ during inflation. This effect did not occur with betamethasone alone or in combination with aldosterone. Conversely, betamethasone, but not aldosterone, significantly increased expression of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) subunit mRNAs, and collagen and elastin content in the lungs. Aldosterone altered novel gene pathways in the fetal lung, suggesting effects on lung compliance via genes which influence immune pathways and lung stiffness. The results are consistent with corticosteroid-induced fluid reabsorption at birth through GR rather than MR, but suggest that MR contributes effects facilitating lung inflation with the first breaths via nonclassical mechanisms. 4 sets of twin sheep fetuses at approximately 130d gestation (term is 147d) were used. One twin was infused with 0.2 mg aldosterone for 48 h, the other received vehicle.
Project description:The late-gestation fetal lung has relatively high levels of expression of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) as well as the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), suggesting that endogenous corticosteroids may act in the lung through binding at MR as well as GR. This study was designed to determine the effects of physiologically relevant increases in steroids on MR and GR in the late-gestation lung. The GR agonist, betamethasone, the MR agonist, aldosterone, or both agonists were infused intravenously for 48 hours in ovine fetuses of approximately 130 days gestation. Effects on airway pressures during stepwise inflation of the in situ lung, expression of ENaC and Na,K ATPase, and elastin and collagen content were determined at the end of the infusions. We found that aldosterone significantly reduced the initial airway pressures measured in situ during inflation. This effect did not occur with betamethasone alone or in combination with aldosterone. Conversely, betamethasone, but not aldosterone, significantly increased expression of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) subunit mRNAs, and collagen and elastin content in the lungs. Aldosterone altered novel gene pathways in the fetal lung, suggesting effects on lung compliance via genes which influence immune pathways and lung stiffness. The results are consistent with corticosteroid-induced fluid reabsorption at birth through GR rather than MR, but suggest that MR contributes effects facilitating lung inflation with the first breaths via nonclassical mechanisms.
Project description:Estradiol plays a critical role stimulating the fetal hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis at the end of gestation. Estradiol action is mediated through nuclear and membrane receptors that can be modulated by ICI 182,780, a pure anti-estrogen compound. The objective of this study was to evaluate the transcriptomics of estradiol and ICI 182,780, testing the hypothesis that ICI 182,780 blocks the action of estradiol in the fetal hypothalamus. However, we found that a short term (48 hrs) infusion with ICI 182,780 induces a similar transcriptomic response than estradiol infusion in the late gestation ovine fetal hypothalamus, being more evident with higher doses of ICI 182,780. These results suggest that ICI 182,780 is primarily an agonist of estradiol in the developing brain.
Project description:This experiment investigates the differential gene expression of the heart during different developmental stages of mouse embryonic development
Project description:We used the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) as our animal model for the current study with two goals: to characterize the changes in histology and gene expression from early to late gestation (prenatal uterine organogenesis) and to determine if there are effects of prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) on the developing female uterus. Pregnant rhesus monkeys carrying a female fetus (N=22) were divided into two experimental groups, based on gestational timing: 'early' (N=10) and 'late' (N=12). These groups were then equally sub-divided into control (unexposed) and BPA (exposed) groups (5 Early Control, 5 Early BPA-exposed, 6 Late Control and 6 Late BPA-exposed.) The BPA-exposed monkeys received a deuterated BPA (dBPA, CDN Isotopes, Quebec, Canada) fruit treat on a daily basis, at a dose of 400ug/kg/day). The dosing was aimed at achieving serum levels of BPA detected in adult human biomonitoring studies. The control animals received a vehicle control on a daily basis. The 'early' time period (mid-gestation) referred to gestational days 50-100, approximating the second trimester of human gestation. The fetal monkeys in the 'early' group were delivered via cesarean section on gestation day 100 and euthanized. Samples of maternal and fetal blood and amniotic fluid were obtained. Maternal and fetal weights were also recorded. The 'late' time period referred to gestational days 100-165, approximating the third trimester of human gestation. The fetal monkeys in the 'late' group were delivered vaginally and euthanized. There were five idiopathic stillbirths (2 Control, 3 BPA-exposed) in the late group. Samples of maternal and fetal blood and amniotic fluid were obtained. Maternal and fetal weights were also recorded. After delivery, the fetal uterus was excised and cut sagitally from fundus to cervix; one side was fixed for histological evaluation and the other half was frozen for analysis of gene expression by microarray. The stillbirths were excluded from the microarray.