Maternal 3,3’-Diiodothyronine Sulfate Formation from Guinea Pig Placenta Perfused with 3,3’,5-Triodothyronine

Objective: Serum 3, 3’,5-triiodothyronine (T3) remains low in near-term fetus to prevent the growing fetus from undue exposure to its active catabolic effect in mammals. The present study was undertaken to gain insight in the role of placenta in T3 metabolism, fetal to maternal transfer of T3, and its metabolites by in situ placenta perfusion with outer-ring labeled [125I]-T3 in pregnant guinea pig, a species showing increased sulfated 3, 3’-diiodothyronine (T2S) levels in maternal serum in late pregnancy (term = 65 days), similarly to humans in pregnancy. Materials and Methods: One-pass placenta perfusions performed on pregnant guinea pigs were studied between 58 - 65 days of gestation. In two separate experiments, the umbilical artery of the guinea pig placenta was perfused in situ at 37°C with outer-ring labeled [125I]-T3. Maternal sera and umbilical effluents were obtained for analysis at the end of a 60-minute perfusion, when the steady-state levels of radioactivity were reached in the placenta effluent after 30-minute. Results: Sulfated [125I]-T2S was readily detected in the maternal serum as the major metabolite of T3 following the perfusion of placenta with [125I]-T3, suggesting that placental inner-ring deiodinase and sulfotransferase may play an important role in fetal T3 homeostasis and in the fetal to maternal transfer of sulfated iodothyronine metabolites. Conclusions: The expression of type 3 deiodinase (D3) and thyroid hormone sulfotransferase activity in placenta may play an important role to protect developing organs against undue exposure to active thyroid hormone in late gestation in the fetus. The combined activities of D3 and sulfotransferase promoted a placental transfer of T2S into maternal circulation. The maternal circulation of T2S is fetal T3 in origin and its role as a fetal thyroid function biomarker deserves further evaluations and studies.

Nanoparticle-mediated transgene expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 in the guinea pig placenta differentially affects fetal liver gene expression depending on maternal nutrient status

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) occurs in up to 10% of pregnancies and is a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Additionally, FGR has been implicated in contributing to the development of long-term health outcomes including increasing the risk for future cardiovascular and endocrine diseases. Currently, there is limited preventative strategies and no effective treatment options for FGR. To address this need, we are developing a therapeutic targeting the placenta to increase expression of human insulin-like growth factor 1 (hIGF-1) and enhance placental development and function, with the goal of correcting fetal growth trajectories. Methods Initially, an ultrasound-guided, transcutaneous, intra-placental injection of a non-viral, Texas-red conjugated polymer-based nanoparticle containing a plasmid with the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene under the control of the placenta-specific promotors Plac1 or Cyp19a1 was performed to determine nanoparticle uptake and transgene expression in the guinea pig placenta. Subsequently, using the established maternal nutrient restriction (MNR) guinea pig model of FGR, placentas were treated with an unconjugated nanoparticle containing a plasmid with the hIGF-1 gene under the Cyp19a1 promotor at mid-pregnancy (gestational day (GD) 30-33). Five days after treatment placentas and fetal liver tissue was collected, weighed, and fixed for histology or snap-frozen for qPCR analysis of mRNA expression. Results Histological analysis of Texas-red and GFP fluorescence in placenta and fetal liver tissue confirmed nanoparticle uptake and transgene expression and that nanoparticle was unable to cross the placenta to fetal circulation. In situ hybridization for plasmid-specific mRNA confirmed sustained hIGF-1 expression five days after treatment. MNR resulted in 20-25% decreased fetal weight at mid-pregnancy (P<0.001) that was not changed with nanoparticle treatment (P>0.05). There was no effect of nanoparticle treatment on the volume densities of trophoblasts or fetal capillaries in the placenta (P>0.05 for both). However, treatment did reduce the interhaemal distance between the maternal blood space and fetal circulation in the MNR placentas compared to sham treated MNR placentas (P<0.001). In the fetuses, placental nanoparticle treatment increased circulating glucose by 38-50% (P<0.001) and was associated with differential changes to fetal liver mRNA expression of genes associated with gluconeogenesis. Gene expression changes were dependent on if the fetus was growth restricted or not; nanoparticle treatment: down-regulated gluconeogenesis gene expression in the normal growing fetuses but increased expression in the FGR fetuses. Conclusions The current study shows that treatment of the guinea pig placenta with a polymer-based nanoparticle causes expression of hIGF-1 and ultimately increases fetal glucose concentrations within five days of treatment. Furthermore, the data shows that the placenta and fetal liver respond differently to nanoparticle treatment depending on fetal growth conditions.

Human Antibodies Can Cross Guinea Pig Placenta and Bind Its Neonatal Fc Receptor: Implications for Studying Immune Prophylaxis and Therapy during Pregnancy

Despite increased use of monoclonal and polyclonal antibody therapies, including during pregnancy, there is little data on appropriate animal models that could humanely be used to understand determinants of protection and to evaluate safety of these biologics in the mother and the developing fetus. Here, we demonstrate that pregnant guinea pigs can transport human IgG transplacentally at the end of pregnancy. We also observe that human IgG binds to an engineered soluble variant of the guinea pig neonatal Fc receptorin vitroin a manner similar to that demonstrated for the human variant, suggesting that this transplacental transport mirrors the receptor-based mechanism seen in humans. Using an intravenous antihepatitis B-specific immune globulin preparation as an example, we show that this transport results in neutralizing activity in the mother and the newborn that would potentially be prophylactic against hepatitis B viral infection. These preliminary data lay the groundwork for introducing pregnant guinea pigs as an appropriate model for the evaluation of antibody therapies and advancing the health of women and neonates.