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Peri- and Postnatal Effects of Prenatal Adenoviral VEGF Gene Therapy in Growth-Restricted Sheep

Carr, DJ; Wallace, JM; Aitken, RP; Milne, JS; Martin, JF; Zachary, IC; Peebles, DM; (2016) Peri- and Postnatal Effects of Prenatal Adenoviral VEGF Gene Therapy in Growth-Restricted Sheep. Biology of Reproduction , 94 (6) , Article 142. 10.1095/biolreprod.115.133744. Green open access

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Abstract

Uterine artery (UtA) adenovirus vector (Ad)-mediated over-expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) enhances uterine blood flow in normal sheep pregnancy and increases fetal growth in the overnourished adolescent sheep model of fetal growth restriction (FGR). Herein we examined its impact on gestation length, neonatal survival, early postnatal growth and metabolism. Singleton-bearing ewes were evenly allocated to receive Ad.VEGF-A165(5 x 10(10)particles/ml, 10 ml, n =17) or Saline (10 ml, n = 16) injected into each UtA at laparotomy (0.6 gestation). Fetal growth was serially monitored (blind) by ultrasound until delivery. Lambs were weighed and blood-sampled weekly and a glucose tolerance test performed (68d postnatal age). Hepatic DNA/RNA was extracted at necropsy (83d postnatal age) to examine methylation status of eight somatotropic axis genes. ITALIC! IGF1mRNA and protein expression were measured by RT-PCR and radioimmunoassay, respectively. All pregnancies remained viable following Ad.VEGF-A165treatment. Fetal abdominal circumference and renal volume were greater in Ad.VEGF-A165versus Saline groups at 21/28 days (p ≤ 0.04) post-injection. At delivery, gestation length (p = 0.07), lamb birthweight (p = 0.08), umbilical girth (p = 0.06) and plasma glucose (p=0.09) tended to be greater in Ad.VEGF-A165treated lambs. Levels of neonatal intervention required to ensure survival was equivalent between groups. Absolute postnatal growth rate (p = 0.02), insulin area-under-the-curve (p = 0.04) and carcass weight at necropsy (p = 0.04) were increased by Ad.VEGF-A165treatment. There was no impact on markers of insulin sensitivity or methylation/expression of key genes involved in somatic growth. Ad.VEGF-A165gene therapy increased fetal growth in a sheep FGR model and lambs continued to thrive during the neonatal and early postnatal period.

Type: Article
Title: Peri- and Postnatal Effects of Prenatal Adenoviral VEGF Gene Therapy in Growth-Restricted Sheep
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1095/biolreprod.115.133744
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1095/biolreprod.115.133744
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2016 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc. This article is available under a Creative Commons License 4.0 (Attribution-Non-Commercial), as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Keywords: Gene therapy, Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), Metabolism, Sheep, Vascular endothelial growth factor
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine > Experimental and Translational Medicine
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL EGA Institute for Womens Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL EGA Institute for Womens Health > Maternal and Fetal Medicine
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1489855
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