Maternal Metformin Treatment Improves Developmental and Metabolic Traits of IUGR Fetuses
Metformin is an anti-hyperglycemic drug widely used for the treatment of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance and is currently considered for preventing large-for-gestational-age (LGA) offspring in pregnant women affected by obesity or diabetes. Our hypothesis was the opposite—metfor...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Biomolecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/9/5/166 |
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| author | Consolación Garcia-Contreras Marta Vazquez-Gomez José Luis Pesantez-Pacheco Laura Torres-Rovira Ana Heras-Molina Teresa Encinas Susana Astiz Antonio Gonzalez-Bulnes |
| author_facet | Consolación Garcia-Contreras Marta Vazquez-Gomez José Luis Pesantez-Pacheco Laura Torres-Rovira Ana Heras-Molina Teresa Encinas Susana Astiz Antonio Gonzalez-Bulnes |
| author_sort | Consolación Garcia-Contreras |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Metformin is an anti-hyperglycemic drug widely used for the treatment of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance and is currently considered for preventing large-for-gestational-age (LGA) offspring in pregnant women affected by obesity or diabetes. Our hypothesis was the opposite—metformin may be used for improving the development of offspring affected by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preventing the appearance of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) neonates in non-obese and non-diabetic but malnourished pregnancies. The current study, performed in a swine preclinical model of IUGR by undernutrition, showed that fetuses in the treated group showed no significant increases in body-weight, but showed a significantly higher weight of the brain, the total thoracic and abdominal viscera, the liver, the kidneys, the spleen, and the adrenal glands. Maternal metformin treatment was also related to significant increases in the fetal plasma concentration of parameters indicative of glycemic (glucose and fructosamine) and lipid profiles (triglycerides). Overall, these results suggest a protective effect of the treatment on the developmental competence of the fetuses. These findings may be of high value for human medicine in case of maternal malnutrition, since metformin is a cheap drug easily available, but also in case of placental deficiency, since metformin seems to improve placental development and function. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T16:22:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-26fc86d21973446ebff8a44bd7bc8003 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2218-273X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T16:22:07Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomolecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-26fc86d21973446ebff8a44bd7bc80032022-12-21T18:20:13ZengMDPI AGBiomolecules2218-273X2019-04-019516610.3390/biom9050166biom9050166Maternal Metformin Treatment Improves Developmental and Metabolic Traits of IUGR FetusesConsolación Garcia-Contreras0Marta Vazquez-Gomez1José Luis Pesantez-Pacheco2Laura Torres-Rovira3Ana Heras-Molina4Teresa Encinas5Susana Astiz6Antonio Gonzalez-Bulnes7SGIT-INIA, 28040 Madrid, SpainFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, SpainSGIT-INIA, 28040 Madrid, SpainSGIT-INIA, 28040 Madrid, SpainSGIT-INIA, 28040 Madrid, SpainFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, SpainSGIT-INIA, 28040 Madrid, SpainSGIT-INIA, 28040 Madrid, SpainMetformin is an anti-hyperglycemic drug widely used for the treatment of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance and is currently considered for preventing large-for-gestational-age (LGA) offspring in pregnant women affected by obesity or diabetes. Our hypothesis was the opposite—metformin may be used for improving the development of offspring affected by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preventing the appearance of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) neonates in non-obese and non-diabetic but malnourished pregnancies. The current study, performed in a swine preclinical model of IUGR by undernutrition, showed that fetuses in the treated group showed no significant increases in body-weight, but showed a significantly higher weight of the brain, the total thoracic and abdominal viscera, the liver, the kidneys, the spleen, and the adrenal glands. Maternal metformin treatment was also related to significant increases in the fetal plasma concentration of parameters indicative of glycemic (glucose and fructosamine) and lipid profiles (triglycerides). Overall, these results suggest a protective effect of the treatment on the developmental competence of the fetuses. These findings may be of high value for human medicine in case of maternal malnutrition, since metformin is a cheap drug easily available, but also in case of placental deficiency, since metformin seems to improve placental development and function.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/9/5/166intrauterine-growth-restrictionmetforminpregnancyswine-model |
| spellingShingle | Consolación Garcia-Contreras Marta Vazquez-Gomez José Luis Pesantez-Pacheco Laura Torres-Rovira Ana Heras-Molina Teresa Encinas Susana Astiz Antonio Gonzalez-Bulnes Maternal Metformin Treatment Improves Developmental and Metabolic Traits of IUGR Fetuses Biomolecules intrauterine-growth-restriction metformin pregnancy swine-model |
| title | Maternal Metformin Treatment Improves Developmental and Metabolic Traits of IUGR Fetuses |
| title_full | Maternal Metformin Treatment Improves Developmental and Metabolic Traits of IUGR Fetuses |
| title_fullStr | Maternal Metformin Treatment Improves Developmental and Metabolic Traits of IUGR Fetuses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Maternal Metformin Treatment Improves Developmental and Metabolic Traits of IUGR Fetuses |
| title_short | Maternal Metformin Treatment Improves Developmental and Metabolic Traits of IUGR Fetuses |
| title_sort | maternal metformin treatment improves developmental and metabolic traits of iugr fetuses |
| topic | intrauterine-growth-restriction metformin pregnancy swine-model |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/9/5/166 |
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