Using ultrasound to define the time point of intrauterine growth retardation in a mouse model of heme oxygenase-1 deficiency.

Using ultrasound to define the time point of intrauterine growth retardation in a mouse model of heme oxygenase-1 deficiency. Biol Reprod. 2020 Apr 28;: Authors: Meyer N, Langwisch S, Scharm M, Zenclussen AC Abstract The enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), encoded by the HMOX1 gene, mediates heme catabolism by cleaving free heme. We have previously revealed the importance of HO-1 in pregnancy. Here, we determined the impact of maternal or paternal HO-1 deficiency on fetal growth and placental parameters throughout gestation. We mated Hmox1-sufficient (WT), partial (HET)- or total (KO)-deficient BALB/c female mice with Hmox1-WT or -KO BALB/c males and performed ultrasound analysis to monitor placental and fetal growth. Doppler measurements were used to determine maternal blood flow parameters. Offspring weights and feto-placental-indices (FPI) were also determined. We found a significantly increased number of underdeveloped fetuses at gd10 in HET females that were mated with WT males compared with WT x WT pairings. At the same gestational age, underdeveloped placentas could be detected in HET females mated with KO males. Many fetuses from the KO x KO combination died in utero between gd12 and gd14. At gd14, abnormal placental parameters were found in surviving fetuses, which had significant reduced weights. Moreover, only 3.11% female and 5.33% male KO pups resulted from ten HET x HET breeding pairs over one year. Our results show that HO...
Source: Reproductive Biology - Category: Reproduction Medicine Authors: Tags: Biol Reprod Source Type: research