Guest Editors
Sean Limesand
University of Arizona
Dr. Limesand is a Professor of Endocrinology in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Arizona. Dr. Limesand’s research is dedicated to placental function and fetal development, specifically investigating early life risk factors for metabolic diseases, such as intrauterine growth restriction. His research program uses a pertinent ovine model that allows for a truly integrative approach at the whole animal, isolated organ, cell, and molecular level to determine developmental responses in pancreatic β-cells that disrupt insulin secretion and permanently affect the life course of the fetus. Dr. Limesand continues to expand his research to incorporate critical aspects involved in insulin action in skeletal muscle to identify mechanisms influencing growth and metabolism.
Ravi Goyal
University of Arizona
Dr. Goyal is an Associate Professor of Physiology in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Arizona. Dr. Goyal received his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Mississippi and MD from Armed Forces Medical College, India. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship at Loma Linda University. Dr. Goyal is researching on developmental origin of health and disease with emphasis on fetal programming of metabolic syndrome, cancer, and neurological impairments. His research program uses a vertically integrated approach utilizing cell culture – tissue culture – small animal (mouse) models – and large animals (sheep) to investigate fetal epigenetic programming of cerebral vascular development in response to maternal stressors such as hypoxia, hyperthermia, and malnutrition.
Collection Overview
Fetal growth restriction, often caused by placental insufficiency, results in increased perinatal mortality and morbidity. Several epidemiological and experimental studies have also identified fetal growth restriction as a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes in adulthood. Although no animal model fully recapitulates human pregnancy, sheep have been used extensively as a model organism to investigate maternal–fetal interactions because intravenous catheters can be chronically placed in the pregnant ewe and fetus. The ability to repeatedly sample from both the maternal and fetal side of the placenta has provided considerable insights into placental and fetal physiology under normal non-stressed in vivo conditions. In addition, numerous experimental paradigms exist, which cause placental insufficiency and fetal growth in sheep. Using the in vivo pregnant sheep model, investigators have developed a wide variety of approaches to study metabolic and endocrine actions during organismal development in both normal pregnancies and pregnancies complicated with placental insufficiency. This Methods Collection aims to bring together innovative techniques and approaches that are designed to study maternal-fetal interactions in sheep. The application of such procedures has provided fundamental knowledge on gas and nutrient exchange between the mother and fetus. Moreover, these in vivo approaches continue to expand our understanding on fetal programming. The basic knowledge gained from sheep experiments provides the foundation for future investigations, and as technologies become available, these methodologies will guide translational studies to improve clinical management of pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction.
