Journal article
Maternal prenatal mental health and placental 11β-HSD2 gene expression: Initial findings from the mercy pregnancy and emotionalwellbeing study
S Seth, AJ Lewis, R Saffery, M Lappas, M Galbally
International Journal of Molecular Sciences | Published : 2015
Abstract
High intrauterine cortisol exposure can inhibit fetal growth and have programming effects for the child’s subsequent stress reactivity. Placental 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD2) limits the amount of maternal cortisol transferred to the fetus. However, the relationship between maternal psychopathology and 11β-HSD2 remains poorly defined. This study examined the effect of maternal depressive disorder, antidepressant use and symptoms of depression and anxiety in pregnancy on placental 11β-HSD2 gene (HSD11B2) expression. Drawing on data from the Mercy Pregnancy and Emotional Wellbeing Study, placental HSD11B2 expression was compared among 33 pregnant women, who were selected based..
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Grants
Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
The Mercy Pregnancy Emotional Wellbeing Study is funded by a grant from Beyond Blue. We would like to thank Deakin University, School of Psychology for their ongoing support in this area of research and funding publication costs for this paper. We thank the Mercy Hospital for Women (Heidelberg, Melbourne), where data for this study was collected and bio-samples processed. We also gratefully acknowledge the participants in this study, the MPEWS team for patient recruitment, data collection and analysis of placental samples; and Gillian Barker (Obstetrics, Nutrition and Endocrinology Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne) for her assistance with placental RNA extractions. Associate Professor Martha Lappas is supported by a Career Development Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; grant no. 1047025).