Vascular control of placenta in diabetes
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Fetoplacental vascular function in health and in patients with diabetes
IRAS ID
107255
Contact name
Paul Flowers
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Glasgow Caledonian University
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 11 months, 28 days
Research summary
Diabetes during pregnancy, particularly poorly controlled diabetes, is associated with increased risks to both the mother and the baby. The placenta supplies the fetus with nutrients and if it does not function correctly then there is an increased risk of problems with the pregnancy.
The placenta has no nerves but relies on local and circulating agents to keep the blood vessels relaxed. Our preliminary data show that there are problems with two of these agents in diabetes – there is an increased contraction to endothelin-1 and decreased relaxation to adrenomedullin. The reasons for these changes occurring are not known. Both these agents have to interact with receptors on the cell membrane to produce their effects and the changes in diabetes may be due to changes in receptor number, changes in receptor response or altered levels of the contractile/relaxing agents themselves. In addition, little is known about the effect of diabetes on other agents known to be important in the placenta.
The study will use placentas of healthy women and women with diabetes, human umbilical vein endothelial cells and human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells to examine the role of a variety of mediators of relaxation and contraction in health and in pregnancy complicated by diabetes. Levels of these mediators and the mechanisms by which these mediators act will be examined in healthy placentas and placental cells, as will the changes that occur within the placenta in diabetes.REC name
Wales REC 6
REC reference
14/WA/1182
Date of REC Opinion
1 Oct 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion