Publication Date
2013
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Thomas Brown (Advisor), Courtney Sulentic (Committee Member), Christopher Wyatt (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1a) is a critical component of the cellular oxygen-sensing machinery and is essential for placental formation and embryonic survival. In this study, we promoted prolonged expression of HIF-1a, by using a form that is insensitive to oxygen, denoted as CA-HIF-1a. In order to have continual placental specific expression of the CA-HIF-1a, lentiviral infection was performed on embryos at the blastocyst stage of development and transferred into pseudo-pregnant mothers. Placental analysis was performed via in situ hybridization on embryonic day 14.5 (E14.5) to determine the effects of CA-HIF-1a prolonged expression. Data indicate that prolonged activity of CA-HIF-1a restricted to trophoblast cells in the mouse placenta results in the inability of cells to advance from their progenitor states, failure of the placenta to organize properly, and failure of trophoblasts to remodel the maternal arteries. Since HIF-1a has the ability to cause developmental placental disruption, its regulation in the placenta could be key in multiple pregnancy-associated disorders such as pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).
Page Count
75
Department or Program
Microbiology and Immunology
Year Degree Awarded
2013
Copyright
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved. This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.
