@article{fb018f28d5f94aad9a014ca23a9891eb,
title = "Effect of maternal betamethasone administration on feto-placental vascular resistance in the mouse",
abstract = "Antenatal corticosteroids are often administered to women at risk of preterm birth to accelerate fetal lung development; however, there is evidence that this treatment may adversely affect placental function in some fetuses. Our group has recently demonstrated that wave reflections in the umbilical artery (UA), measured using high-frequency ultrasound, are sensitive to placental vascular abnormalities. In the present study, we used this approach to investigate the effect of maternal administration of betamethasone, a clinically relevant corticosteroid, on the feto-placental vasculature of the mouse. Fetuses were assessed at embryonic day (E)15.5 and E17.5 in C57BL6/J mice. At both gestational ages, the UA diameter, UA blood flow, and the wave reflection coefficient were significantly elevated in the betamethasone-treated mice compared to vehicle-treated controls. These observations support the interpretation that placental vascular resistance dropped with betamethasone treatment to an extent that could not be explained by vasodilation of the UA alone. Consistent with clinical studies, the effect of betamethasone on UA end-diastolic velocity was heterogeneous. Our results suggest that UA wave reflections are more sensitive to acute changes in placental vascular resistance compared with the UA pulsatility index, and this technique may have clinical application to identify a favorable placental vascular response to fetal therapies such as antenatal corticosteroids, where the fetal heart rate is likely to vary.",
keywords = "corticosteroids, mouse, placenta, ultrasound, umbilical artery, wave reflection",
author = "Cahill, {Lindsay S.} and Whitehead, {Clare L.} and Hobson, {Sebastian R.} and Greg Stortz and Kingdom, {John C.} and Ahmet Baschat and Murphy, {Kellie E.} and Lena Serghides and Macgowan, {Christopher K.} and Sled, {John G.}",
note = "Funding Information: † Cahill Lindsay S lindsay.cahill@sickkids.ca Whitehead Clare L Hobson Sebastian R Stortz Greg Kingdom John C Baschat Ahmet Murphy Kellie E Serghides Lena Macgowan Christopher K Sled John G Mouse Imaging Centre , The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Mount Sinai Hospital , Toronto, Ontario, Canada Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Translational Medicine , The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Centre for Fetal Therapy , Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA Toronto General Hospital Research Institute , University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Department of Immunology and Institute of Medical Sciences , University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Women{\textquoteright}s College Research Institute , Women{\textquoteright}s College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Department of Medical Biophysics , University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Correspondence: Mouse Imaging Centre, Hospital for Sick Children, 25 Orde St, Toronto, ON M5T 2H7, Canada. Tel: 416-813-7654; Fax: 647-837-5832; E-mail: lindsay.cahill@sickkids.ca Grand Support: Funding for this work was provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of Health Grant U01-HD-087177-01 and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Grant PJT-153202. 10 2019 25 10 2019 18 07 2019 101 4 823 831 20 3 2019 10 5 2019 15 5 2019 {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for the Study of Reproduction. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com 2019 This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model ( https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model ) Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for the Study of Reproduction. All rights reserved.",
year = "2019",
month = oct,
day = "25",
doi = "10.1093/biolre/ioz128",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "101",
pages = "823--831",
journal = "Biology of Reproduction",
issn = "0006-3363",
publisher = "Society for the Study of Reproduction",
number = "4",
}