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SUMMARY:Neuroplacentology - Anna Penn\, Columbia University &amp\; NewYork
 -Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
DTSTART:20220516T143000Z
DTEND:20220516T153000Z
UID:TALK174542@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Yonat Rum
DESCRIPTION:Neuroplacentology is a term coined to describe an emerging are
 a of placental research that aims to understand the impact of placental fu
 nction on the developing brain. Links between placental dysfunction or pat
 hology have been linked to abnormal neurodevelopment\, including autism\, 
 but the causal mechanisms remain largely unknown. Many events including in
 fection\, malnutrition\, and genetic abnormalities can disrupt placental f
 unction\, or – as in preterm birth – can abruptly change the hormonal 
 environment of the developing brain.  Our research takes a multi-faceted a
 pproach to understanding these placental mechanisms by developing systems 
 in which we can test specific hormonal loss and interventions. In this tal
 k\, I will describe our investigations of allopregnanolone (ALLO)\, a non-
 glucocorticoid progesterone derivative made by the placenta in both mouse 
 and humans\, that acts as a positive modulator of GABA-A receptor activity
 . To directly test the role of placental ALLO\, we generated a novel mou
 se model in which the gene encoding the synthetic enzyme for ALLO (Akr1c
 14) was specifically deleted in trophoblasts. Targeted placental ALLO loss
  led to permanent changes in offspring brain structure in a sex- and regio
 nally-specific manner. Our studies reveal new roles for a placental hormon
 e in specific\, long-term anatomical and behavioural changes. We suggest t
 hat identifying placental hormone insufficiency or augmenting key hormones
  after preterm birth might offer novel therapeutic opportunities to modify
  neurodevelopmental outcomes linked to poor placental function or preterm 
 birth. 
LOCATION:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85130861934?pwd=c1l1czdNSFVaUzdtRDRPSlU
 3Q0VmZz09
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