Iodine Deficiency and Pregnancy

Iodine deficiency is a topical health problem in many countries, including Russia. Iodine deficiency is especially adverse during intrauterine development and the first years of life. This necessitates adequate replenishment of iodine deficiency during planning and during pregnancy and breastfeeding

Features of the formation of certain bones of the skull at the early stages of human ontogenesis

The study of morphogenesis and embryotopography of skull bones is important not only in understanding the normal development of the human embryo but also will improve existing methods of invasive treatment and visualization of various pathologies of the central nervous system in children.The aim was to investigate the peculiarities of morphogenesis and topography of some skull bones during the early stages of human ontogenesis.Material and methods. We have studied 14 series of consecutive histological sections of human embryos and pre-fetuses aged 6 to 11 weeks of intrauterine development by using a set of topical morphological methods (anthropometry, morphometry, histology, three-dimensional reconstruction).Results. The frontal and parietal bones appear at the end of the embryonic period as mesenchymal rudiments that gradually expand upwards from primary points of ossification (starting from the basolateral parts of the head). During 8th week of IUD, the germ of the ectomeningeal capsule is detected in the form of a thin plate, close to the brain. At the beginning of the pre-fetal period, histological signs of membranous ossification are revealed; frontal and parietal bones develop from paired rudiments, which gradually fuse, which was accompanied by active angiogenesis.Conclusions. The primary ossification centers in frontal and parietal bones of the human embryo appear at the beginning of embryological period and develop by membranous type. Two ossification centers appear in frontal and parietal bones and they gradually merge. At the beginning of the prenatal period, the rudiment of a small wing of the sphenoid, spheno-ethmoidal cartilage and signs of merging of both ossification centers in the parietal bone are detected.

162 Fetal Programming and Meat Quality

For many years, variation in carcass and meat quality traits was thought to result from actions taken throughout the animals’ life after birth. However, the quantity and quality of meat obtained at slaughter are not always as good as expected. The past decade has increased the number of evidence of the effects of intrauterine development of skeletal muscle on animal performance that affects the carcass and meat quality traits. The so-called “Fetal Programming” concept sheds light on the biology of skeletal muscle development in meat animals, revealing that this development stage appears to be a pivotal moment to invest efforts aiming to improve animal productivity and the quality of meat. Because most, if not all, of the muscle fibers are formed prenatally in livestock species, the impairment of muscle fiber formation at this stage will limit the overall muscle mass deposition throughout postnatal life. Intramuscular adipocytes also start their formation at the fetal stage. As such, since the intramuscular fat depot has a lower deposition rate than other fat depots, enhancement of intramuscular adipogenesis during the fetal stage may increase marbling deposition postnatally. Muscle fibers, adipocytes, and fibroblasts, which contribute to connective tissue formation, are derived from the same pool of mesenchymal stem (MS) cells. Depending on the insult suffered during intrauterine development, their commitment may shift from myogenic towards adipogenic/fibrogenic lineage. So far, most of the evidence in livestock animals has shown that maternal nutrition during gestation is the main factor that influences the mechanisms underlying the commitment of the MS cells. Although the majority of these studies have shown the consequences of maternal nutrition on myogenesis, adipogenesis, and fibrogenesis, the epigenetic markers that cause the programming of MS cells to undergo to one lineage or another needs to be further investigated.

Prevalence of Low Birth Weight Neonates during COVID-19 Pandemic in a Tertiary Care Hospital at Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan

In comparison to other middle-income countries, Pakistan has a high prevalence of low birth weight. Currently the situation has worsened because of the COVID-19 pandemic where stress can have a negative impact on intrauterine development, leading to a rise in preterm birth rates and the incidence of low birth weight babies. The goal of this study is to estimate the prevalence of low birth weight in a tertiary care hospital in Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this cross-sectional study, the hospital records of two thousand, two hundred and seventy eight neonates were analyzed from patients’ data register for the year 2020. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel spread sheet. Of 2278 children admitted to the neonatal ward, only 29.2% babies had birth weight within normal range, 0.7% neonates were high birth weight, and the rest of the admitted babies (70.1%) during the year 2020 had birth weight below 2500 grams. Smallest birth weight observed in the study was 0.9 kg and 4.8 kg was highest birth weight (mean 2.35 kg, SD 0.88, SE 0.012). Female neonates were 895 (39.3%) and the rest of the 1383 (60.7%) babies were male. This study revealed that in Sindh province of Pakistan, the prevalence of low birth weight is extremely high during COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the findings suggest that there is need for a lot more emphasis on improving maternal mental health, nutrition and several other relevant factors to reduce the prevalence of low birth weight.

Newborns from women infected with COVID-19: somatic and metabolic status

To date, there are limited data regarding manifestations of new coronavirus infection in infants born of SARS-CoV-2 infected mothers, so the aim of this study is to investigate somatic and metabolic status of newborn infants born to mothers diagnosed with COVID-19. The investigation was carried out on the bases of Laboratory Diagnostic Department of Samara Regional Clinical Hospital named after V.D. Seredavin and the Department of Fundamental and Clinical Biochemistry with Laboratory Diagnostics of Samara State Medical University. Under observation were 85 newborns, including 35 born of healthy mothers and 50 born of COVID-19 mothers.The somatic status of all newborns was assessed using the Apgar scale at the 1st and 5th minutes after birth. Also all newborns had general and biochemical blood tests and newborns from mothers with COVID-19 were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in oral and nasopharyngeal swabs. Thus, the study of somatic status revealed that of 50 neonates from women infected with COVID-19, only 18% were practically healthy, the rest had signs of prematurity, hypotrophy, perinatal CNS damage, diabetic fetopathy, pulmonary atelectasis, delayed intrauterine development, asphyxia. The metabolic state is characterised by decreased haemoglobin and platelets, increased concentration of total protein, including C-reactive protein, high transaminase activity, decreased sodium and chloride content. These parameters of general and biochemical blood tests can be considered as indicators for the evaluation of the condition of newborns from mothers with COVID-19.

Intrauterine development of fetus in the conditions of oil technogenesis

The oil industry is a leader in the negative impact on all areas of the natural environment. Polluting the atmospheric air, soil, surface and underground waters, oil production processes expose the population living in the adjacent territory to the dangerous effects of xenobiotics. The reproductive system is the most sensitive to environmental problems.The aim of the study was to identify the features of the intrauterine development of fetuses of women living in the territory of oil technogenesis in comparison with the fetuses of women living in a territory without it. A comparative assessment of the frequency of blastogenesis defects in the studied groups was carried out as a result of the analysis of embryological protocols of women who received infertility treatment using methods of assisted reproductive technologies. In order to assess the frequency and structure of defects in embryogenesis and fetogenesis, an analysis of cases of congenital malformations was carried out according to the data of the primary medical documentation of the Medical Genetic Consultation.The identification of differences in the development of embryos was determined by the Pearson agreement criterion. Assessment of statistically significant differences in indicators in the study of the frequency and structure of congenital anomalies in fetuses identified by ultrasound and in newborns, the structure of factors that influenced the mother during pregnancy, which could lead to the development of congenital anomalies and complications of the course of pregnancy, was carried out using t-Student's criterion. Defects of cleavage and blastulation of embryos of women in the observation group were revealed. It was found that the frequency of birth of children with congenital anomalies in the territories of oil technogenesis is statistically significantly higher than in the territories without it. In the observation group, congenital anomalies of the respiratory system detected by ultrasound examination of the fetus, congenital anomalies of the genitals, urinary organs, musculoskeletal systems, multiple malformations revealed antenatally are statistically significantly more common.

Peculiarities of morphogenesis of orbit and organ of vision structures in human fetuses

The aim of this work is to elucidate the features of morphogenesis, syntopic and morphometric changes in the structures of the orbit, neurovascular and muscular structures of the organ of vision in the fetal period of human ontogenesis.Material and methods. By means of complex of methods of morphological research (anthropometry, morphometry, microscopy, preparation, three-dimensional computer reconstruction and statistical analysis), 30 specimens of human fetuses of both sexes aged from 4 to 10 months of intrauterine development (IUD) (160.0-460.0 mm parietal-coccygeal length (PCL)) were studied. Computer tomography was used to study 17 human fetuses aged from 4 to 9 months of IUD (180.0-440.0 mm PCL).Results. At the end of the 5th month of IUD, an orbital index is 75%, which is noted in the transformation of the shape of orbit from flattened to rounded due to an increase in its vertical size relative to the horizontal one. We associate this transformation of the orbit with syntopic influence of adjacent regions: the growth of the lateral wall of the nasal cavity, development of the paranasal sinuses, and facial skeleton. At the end of the 5th week of intrauterine development, external eyeball muscles are finally differentiated from the common muscle rudiment. The analysis of changes in morphometric parameters of muscles of the eyeball made it possible to derive mathematical functions, that describe normal dynamics of growth of their length, as well as to reveal critical periods of their development in terms of the rate of changes in their thickness and width.Conclusions1. The development of the organ of vision in the fetal period of human ontogenesis is a complex process due to the coordinated interaction between morphological and morphometric changes in the orbit, eyeball and its muscles, nerves and vessels.2. Critical periods of development of the orbit and its structures is the 6th month of intrauterine development, during which there is an uneven growth rate of the size of the muscles of the eyeball, as well as the size of the orbit.3. At the 6th month of intrauterine development, uneven growth rates of the horizontal size of the orbit relative to the vertical one are observed, as a result of which its shape begins to return to the mesoconchal type characteristic of such prefetuses. Such age-related transformations of shape and size of the orbit are due to the growth of the eyeball, skull and face, which generally determines the shape of the orbit.4. Starting from the 8th month of fetal period of development, structure and topography of the structures of the orbit acquire signs of a definitive condition, the shape of the orbit is finally established, and uniform growth rates of all structures of the organ of vision are observed, except for the growth of the circumference of the orbit at the end of prenatal period of human ontogenesis.

IMPLICATION OF SIRTUINS AND KISSPEPTIN IN OVARIAN AGING

Цель работы - исследование экспрессии сируинов-1 и -6 и кисспептина в ткани яичников человека, взятых в разные периоды онтогенеза - от формирования пула фолликулов в антенатальном периоде до угасания функции яичников в постменопаузе. Выявлено, что сиртуины экспрессируются в ткани яичника человека во всех возрастных группах. Максимальный уровень экспрессии SIRT1 в ткани яичника наблюдали в периоды внутриутробного развития и перименопаузы, SIRT6 - в репродуктивный период и перименопаузу. Показано участие SIRT1 в пренатальном отборе ооцитов у плодов человека, так как именно в этой группе выявлена повышенная экспрессия данного маркера. Уровень экспрессии маркера кисспептина растет по мере формирования яичников и включения репродуктивной функции, пик экспрессии наблюдается в период перед наступлением климакса. Проведенное исследование по выявлению экспрессии этих белков в яичнике человека расширяет представление о регуляции фолликулярного резерва яичников и репродуктивном старении. The aim of the work was to study the expression of sirtuins 1 and 6 and kisspeptin in human ovarian tissue taken in different periods of ontogenesis: from the formation of a pool of follicles in the antenatal period to the extinction of ovarian function in postmenopausal women. It was revealed that sirtuins are expressed in human ovary tissue in all age groups. The maximum expression level of SIRT1 in ovarian tissue was observed during intrauterine development and during the perimenopause, SIRT6 during the reproductive period and perimenopause. The participation of SIRT1 in prenatal selection of oocytes in human fetuses was shown, since it was in this group that increased expression of this marker was revealed. The expression level of the kisspeptin marker increases with the formation of the ovaries and the inclusion of reproductive function; the peak of expression is observed in the period before the onset of menopause. The study conducted to identify the expression of these proteins in the human ovary expands the understanding of the regulation of the ovarian follicular reserve and reproductive aging.

Autism-associated synaptic vesicle transcripts are differentially expressed in maternal plasma exosomes of physiopathologic pregnancies

BackgroundDuring intrauterine development, the formation and function of synaptic vesicles (SVs) are thought to be fundamental conditions essential for normal development of the brain. Lacking advanced technology during the intrauterine period, such as longitudinal real-time monitoring of the SV-associated transcripts (SVATs), which include six pairs of lncRNA-mRNA, has limited acquisition of the dynamic gene expression profile (GEP) of SVATs. We previously reported the differential expression of SVATs in the peripheral blood of autistic children. The current study was designed to determine the dynamic profiles of differentially-expressed SVATs in circulating exosomes (EXs) derived from autistic children and pregnant women at different gestational ages.MethodsBlood samples were collected from autistic children and women with variant physiopathologic pregnancies. EXs were isolated with an ExoQuick Exosome Precipitation Kit and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), and Western blotting. The expression of lncRNAs and lncRNA-targeted mRNAs were quantified using real-time PCR.ResultsSVAT-associated lncRNAs-mRNAs were detected in autistic children and differentially expressed from the first trimester of pregnancy to the term of delivery. Pathologic pregnancies, including spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), preeclampsia (PE), and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), were compared to normal physiologic pregnancies, and shown to exhibit specific correlations between SVAT-lncRNA and SVAT-mRNA ofSTX8,SLC18A2, andSYPwith sPTB; SVAT-lncRNA and SVAT-mRNA ofSTX8with PE; and SVAT-lncRNA and SVAT-mRNA ofSV2Cas well as SVAT-mRNA ofSYPwith GDM.ConclusionVariant complications in pathologic pregnancies may alter the GEP of SVATs, which is likely to affect the intrauterine development of neural circuits and consequently influence fetal brain development.