The researchers of the Placenta in Health and Disease group (Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology) under the leadership of Prof. František Štaud have achieved a remarkable success. In collaboration with the group of Prof. Marian Kacerovský (University Hospital, Hradec Králové) and Prof. Cathy Vaillancourt (Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Canada), they have been conducting a long-term clinical study in which they monitor changes in placental functions in patients with uterine inflammation and the effect on fetal neurodevelopment.
The authors have published the first part of this project in the prestigious journal Human Molecular Genetics from the UK's Oxford University Press (impact factor = 6,150/Q1 and AIS = 2,100/Q1). In the paper, the authors performed over 13,000 PCR reactions on a cohort of one hundred and sixty patients and used robust statistical analyses to describe the association between maternal inflammation and tryptophan metabolism in the placenta. Placental tryptophan is a precursor of many neuroprotective and neurotoxic molecules in pregnancy. Thus, tryptophan homeostasis disturbed by inflammation can affect fetal brain development and manifest in adulthood with many psychiatric disorders.
The study will continue to follow the neurodevelopment of children exposed to maternal inflammation in utero.
The publication is available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddab169
Text: Graduate Student & Research Services
Graphics: Placenta in Health and Disease group