Why the study?
Maternal physiological adaptations such as increased uterine artery blood flow are cardinal to healthy pregnancy, but the mechanisms of uterine artery reactivity and the role of perivascular adipose tissue require focus.
Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Design
Review
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Provides mechanistic insights into pregnancy vascular adaptations; leaves open clinical translation to maternal cardiovascular care.
Pregnancy is characterized by longitudinal maternal, physiological adaptations to support the development of a fetus. One of the cardinal maternal adaptations during a healthy pregnancy is a progressive increase in uterine artery blood flow. This facilitates sufficient blood supply for the development of the placenta and the growing fetus. Regional hemodynamic changes in the uterine circulation, such as a vast reduction in uterine artery resistance, are mainly facilitated by changes in uterine artery reactivity and myogenic tone along with remodeling of the uterine arteries. These regional changes in vascular reactivity have been attributed to pregnancy-induced adaptations of cell-to-cell communication mechanisms, with an emphasis on the interaction between endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells. Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is considered the fourth layer of the vascular wall and contributes to the regulation of vascular reactivity in most vascular beds and most species. This review focuses on mechanisms of uterine artery reactivity and the role of PVAT in pregnancy-induced maternal vascular adaptations, with an emphasis on the uterine circulation.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Osikoya et al. (2024) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: