Disrupted placental serotonin synthetic pathway and increased placental serotonin: Potential implications in the pathogenesis of human fetal growth restriction.
The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Pregnancy Research Centre, The Royal Women's Hospital, Victoria, Australia; Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: [Email]
Placental insufficiency contributes to altered maternal-fetal amino acid transfer, and thereby to poor fetal growth. An important placental function is the uptake of tryptophan and its metabolism to serotonin (5-HT) and kynurenine metabolites, which are essential for fetal development. We hypothesised that placental 5-HT content will be increased in pregnancies affected with fetal growth restriction (FGR).
