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A Potential Role and Contribution of Androgens in Placental Development and Pregnancy

Successful pregnancy requires the establishment of a highly regulated maternal–fetal environment. This is achieved through the harmonious regulation of steroid hormones, which modulate both maternal and fetal physiology, and are critical for pregnancy maintenance. Defects in steroidogenesis and ster...

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Autores principales: Parsons, Agata M., Bouma, Gerrit J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8305703/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34357016
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life11070644
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author Parsons, Agata M.
Bouma, Gerrit J.
author_facet Parsons, Agata M.
Bouma, Gerrit J.
author_sort Parsons, Agata M.
collection PubMed
description Successful pregnancy requires the establishment of a highly regulated maternal–fetal environment. This is achieved through the harmonious regulation of steroid hormones, which modulate both maternal and fetal physiology, and are critical for pregnancy maintenance. Defects in steroidogenesis and steroid signaling can lead to pregnancy disorders or even fetal loss. The placenta is a multifunctional, transitory organ which develops at the maternal–fetal interface, and supports fetal development through endocrine signaling, the transport of nutrients and gas exchange. The placenta has the ability to adapt to adverse environments, including hormonal variations, trying to support fetal development. However, if placental function is impaired, or its capacity to adapt is exceeded, fetal development will be compromised. The goal of this review is to explore the relevance of androgens and androgen signaling during pregnancy, specifically in placental development and function. Often considered a mere precursor to placental estrogen synthesis, the placenta in fact secretes androgens throughout pregnancy, and not only contains the androgen steroid nuclear receptor, but also non-genomic membrane receptors for androgens, suggesting a role of androgen signaling in placental function. Moreover, a number of pregnancy disorders, including pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, intrauterine growth restriction, and polycystic ovarian syndrome, are associated with abnormal androgen levels and androgen signaling. Understanding the role of androgens in the placenta will provide a greater understanding of the pathophysiology of pregnancy disorders associated with androgen elevation and its consequences.
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spelling pubmed-83057032021-07-25 A Potential Role and Contribution of Androgens in Placental Development and Pregnancy Parsons, Agata M. Bouma, Gerrit J. Life (Basel) Review Successful pregnancy requires the establishment of a highly regulated maternal–fetal environment. This is achieved through the harmonious regulation of steroid hormones, which modulate both maternal and fetal physiology, and are critical for pregnancy maintenance. Defects in steroidogenesis and steroid signaling can lead to pregnancy disorders or even fetal loss. The placenta is a multifunctional, transitory organ which develops at the maternal–fetal interface, and supports fetal development through endocrine signaling, the transport of nutrients and gas exchange. The placenta has the ability to adapt to adverse environments, including hormonal variations, trying to support fetal development. However, if placental function is impaired, or its capacity to adapt is exceeded, fetal development will be compromised. The goal of this review is to explore the relevance of androgens and androgen signaling during pregnancy, specifically in placental development and function. Often considered a mere precursor to placental estrogen synthesis, the placenta in fact secretes androgens throughout pregnancy, and not only contains the androgen steroid nuclear receptor, but also non-genomic membrane receptors for androgens, suggesting a role of androgen signaling in placental function. Moreover, a number of pregnancy disorders, including pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, intrauterine growth restriction, and polycystic ovarian syndrome, are associated with abnormal androgen levels and androgen signaling. Understanding the role of androgens in the placenta will provide a greater understanding of the pathophysiology of pregnancy disorders associated with androgen elevation and its consequences. MDPI 2021-07-01 /pmc/articles/PMC8305703/ /pubmed/34357016 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life11070644 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Parsons, Agata M.
Bouma, Gerrit J.
A Potential Role and Contribution of Androgens in Placental Development and Pregnancy
title A Potential Role and Contribution of Androgens in Placental Development and Pregnancy
title_full A Potential Role and Contribution of Androgens in Placental Development and Pregnancy
title_fullStr A Potential Role and Contribution of Androgens in Placental Development and Pregnancy
title_full_unstemmed A Potential Role and Contribution of Androgens in Placental Development and Pregnancy
title_short A Potential Role and Contribution of Androgens in Placental Development and Pregnancy
title_sort potential role and contribution of androgens in placental development and pregnancy
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8305703/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34357016
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life11070644
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