The "gender war" starts in the womb: the father and mother's genes have started a tug of war on nutrition

As the fetus grows, it needs to communicate its growing demand for food to the mother
.

It absorbs nutrients through the blood vessels in the placenta, a special organ that contains cells from babies and mothers

10% to 15% of infants are stunted in the uterus, usually as a result of decreased growth of blood vessels in the placenta
.

In humans, these blood vessels expand significantly in the second and third trimester of pregnancy, with a total length of about 320 kilometers at full term

In a study published today in the journal Developmental Cell, a research team led by scientists from the University of Cambridge used genetically engineered mice to show how the fetus generates a signal to promote the placenta The growth of blood vessels inside
.

This signal will also change other cells in the placenta, allowing more nutrients from the mother to enter the fetus

The first author of the paper, Dr.
Ionel Sandovich, said: “When a fetus grows in the womb, it needs food from the mother.
The healthy blood vessels in the placenta are essential to help the fetus get the proper amount of nutrients it needs
.

"

"We have identified a way for the fetus to communicate with the placenta to promote the proper expansion of these blood vessels
.

When this communication is interrupted, the blood vessels will not develop normally and the baby will have difficulty getting all the food they need

The research team found that the fetus sends a signal called IGF2 to reach the placenta through the umbilical cord
.

In humans, the level of IGF2 in the umbilical cord gradually increases between the 29th week of pregnancy and full term: too much IGF2 is associated with overgrowth, while insufficient IGF2 is associated with undergrowth

Dr.
Sandovici added: "We already know that IGF2 can promote the growth of the organs that produce it
.

In this study, we have shown that IGF2 is also like a classic hormone-it is produced by the fetus, enters the fetal blood, and passes through the umbilical cord.

What is particularly interesting is that their findings reveal the fighting in the womb
.

In mice, the response to IGF2 in placental blood vessels is mediated by another protein called IGF2R
.

The two genes that produce IGF2 and IGF2R are "imprinted"-through this process, the molecular switch of the gene can recognize their parental origin, and can turn the gene on or off

Constancia, the lead author of the study, said: “One theory about imprinted genes is that the genes that fathers represent Da are greedy and selfish
.

They want to squeeze as much resources from their mothers as possible
.
But the genes expressed by the maternal line balance these.
Demand response
.
"

"In our research, the father’s genes drive the fetus’s need for larger blood vessels and more nutrients, while the mother’s placenta genes try to control how much nutrition she provides
.
This is a tug-of-war battle, a genomic level of gender.
War
.
"

The research team said their findings will enable people to better understand how the fetus, placenta and mother communicate with each other during pregnancy
.
This in turn may lead to methods of measuring fetal IGF2 levels and finding ways to use drugs to normalize these levels or promote the normal development of the placental vasculature
.

The researchers used mice because it is possible to manipulate their genes to simulate different developmental conditions
.
This allows them to study in detail the different mechanisms that occur
.
The physiology and biology of mice have many similarities with humans, which allows researchers to simulate human pregnancy in order to better understand it
.

Journal Reference :

1. Ionel Sandovici, Aikaterini Georgopoulou, Vicente Pérez-García, Antonia Hufnagel, Jorge López-Tello, Brian YH Lam, Samira N.
   Schiefer, Chelsea Gaudreau, Fátima Santo, Giles Katharo, Kehares, Burling, Moritz Reiterer, Abigail L.
   Fowden, Graham J.
   Burton, Cristina M.
   Branco, Amanda N.
   Sferruzzi-Perri, Miguel Constância.
   The imprinted Igf2-Igf2r axis is critical for matching placental microvasculature expansion to fetal growth .
   Developmental Cell , 2021; DOI: 10.
   1016/j.
   devcel.
   2021.
   12.
   005
   

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University of Cambridge.
"‘Battle of the sexes’ begins in womb as father and mother’s genes tussle over nutrition.
" ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 27 December 2021.
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University of Cambridge.
(2021, December 27).
‘Battle of the sexes’ begins in womb as father and mother’s genes tussle over nutrition.
ScienceDaily .
Retrieved December 27, 2021 from 12/211227154328.
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University of Cambridge.
"‘Battle of the sexes’ begins in womb as father and mother’s genes tussle over nutrition.
" ScienceDaily.
(accessed December 27, 2021 ).