
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Goland, RS 
A1  - Tropper, PJ 
A1  - Warren, WB 
A1  - Stark, RI 
A1  - Jozak, SM 
A1  - Conwell, IM 
T1  - Concentrations of corticotrophin-releasing hormone in the umbilical-cord blood of pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia
JF  - Reproduction, Fertility and Development
JO  - Reprod. Fertil. Dev.
Y1  - 1995
VL  - 7
IS  - 5
SP  - 1227
EP  - 1230
KW  - 
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/RD9951227 
N2  - The effect of pre-eclampsia on concentrations of corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) in umbilical-cord blood of fetuses at delivery was studied in order to determine if fetal CRH is elevated in this disorder when compared with uncomplicated pregnancy. Placental CRH may be a regulator of fetal pituitary-adrenal function and we therefore also measured ACTH, cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) in the umbilical-cord blood. The mean umbilical-cord plasma CRH in the fetuses from pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia, 667 +/- 153 pg mL-1, was significantly higher than the plasma CRH in the fetuses from normotensive pregnancies, 185 +/- 22 pg mL-1 (P < 0.001). The mean fetal cortisol concentration was significantly higher in pre-eclampsia, than in the normotensive, pregnancies (pre-eclampsia, 13.5 +/- 1.8; normotensive, 7.6 +/- 1.3 micrograms dL-1; P < 0.001). Plasma DHEAS was 217 +/- 23 micrograms dL-1 in the umbilical-cord blood of the fetuses from pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia and 281 +/- 35 micrograms dL-1 in the normotensive pregnancies (P < 0.01). Placental CRH synthesis and release, in contrast to hypothalamic CRH, appears to be stimulated by glucocorticoids. In pregnancies complicated by uteroplacental insufficiency, as may occur in pre-eclampsia, placental CRH production may be enhanced by increased fetal glucocorticoids. In turn, placental CRH may modulate fetal pituitary-adrenal steroidogenesis to favour increased cortisol secretion. Thus, placental CRH may play an important role in the fetal response to a compromised intrauterine environment. 
ER  -

