Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
2002-3-4
pubmed:abstractText
The effect of fetal cortisol on the activity of the type 2 isoform of the enzyme, 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11 beta-HSD2), was examined in ovine placenta and fetal kidney by measuring tissue 11 beta-HSD2 activity during late gestation when endogenous fetal cortisol levels rise and after exogenous cortisol administration to immature fetuses before the prepartum cortisol surge. Placental 11 beta-HSD2 activity decreased between 128-132 days and term (approximately 145 days of gestation) in association with the normal prepartum increase in fetal plasma cortisol. Raising fetal cortisol levels to prepartum values in the immature fetus at 128--132 days of gestation reduced placental 11 beta-HSD2 activity to term values. In contrast, 11 beta-HSD2 activity in the fetal renal cortex was unaffected by gestational age or cortisol infusion. When all the data were combined, there was an inverse correlation between the log fetal plasma cortisol level at delivery and placental 11 beta-HSD2 activity, expressed both on a weight-specific basis and per mg placental protein. Fetal cortisol therefore appears to be a physiological regulator of placental, but not renal, 11 beta-HSD2 activity in fetal sheep during late gestation. These findings have important implications, not only for glucocorticoid exposure in utero, but also for the local actions of cortisol within the placental tissues that are involved in initiating parturition in the sheep.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Mar
pubmed:issn
0022-0795
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
172
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
527-34
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2002
pubmed:articleTitle
Regulation of 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 activity in ovine placenta by fetal cortisol.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Physiology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EG, UK.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't