Placental Nano-vesicles Target to Specific Organs and Modulate Vascular Tone In Vivo

AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONHow do nano-vesicles extruded from normal first trimester human placentae affect maternal vascular function?SUMMARY ANSWERPlacental nano-vesicles affect the ability of systemic mesenteric arteries to undergo endothelium- and nitric oxide- (NO-) dependent vasodilationin vivo in pregnant mice.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYDramatic cardiovascular adaptations occur during human pregnancy, including a substantial decrease in total peripheral resistance in the first trimester. The human placenta constantly extrudes extracellular vesicles that can enter the maternal circulation and these vesicles may play an important role in feto-maternal communication.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONHuman placental nano-vesicles were administered into CD1 mice via a tail vein and their localization and vascular effects at 30 min and 24 h post-injection were investigated.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSNano-vesicles from normal first trimester human placentae were collected and administered into pregnant (D12.5) or non-pregnant female mice. After either 30 min or 24 h of exposure, all major organs were dissected for imaging (n = 7 at each time point) while uterine and mesenteric arteries were dissected for wire myography (n = 6 at each time point). Additionalin vitro studies using HMEC-1 endothelial cells were also conducted to investigate the kinetics of interaction between placental nano-vesicles and endothelial cells.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCENano-vesicles from first tr...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research