Imaging fetal anatomy.

Due to advancements in ultrasound techniques, the focus of antenatal ultrasound screening is moving towards the first trimester of pregnancy. The early first trimester however remains in part, a 'black box', due to the size of the developing embryo and the limitations of contemporary scanning techniques. Therefore there is a need for images of early anatomical developmental to improve our understanding of this area. By using new imaging techniques, we can not only obtain better images to further our knowledge of early embryonic development, but clear images of embryonic and fetal development can also be used in training for e.g. sonographers and fetal surgeons, or to educate parents expecting a child with a fetal anomaly. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the past, present and future techniques used to capture images of the developing human embryo and fetus and provide the reader newest insights in upcoming and promising imaging techniques. The reader is taken from the earliest drawings of da Vinci, along the advancements in the fields of in utero ultrasound and MR imaging techniques towards high-resolution ex utero imaging using Micro-CT and ultra-high field MRI. Finally, a future perspective is given about the use of artificial intelligence in ultrasound and new potential imaging techniques such as synchrotron radiation-based CT to increase our knowledge regarding human development

Cardiac regeneration: different cells same goal

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality, morbidity, hospitalization and impaired quality of life. In most, if not all, pathologic cardiac ischemia ensues triggering a succession of events leading to massive death of cardiomyocytes, fibroblast and extracellular matrix accumulation, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy which culminates in heart failure and eventually death. Though current pharmacological treatment is able to delay the succession of events and as a consequence the development of heart failure, the only currently available and effective treatment of end-stage heart failure is heart transplantation. However, donor heart availability and immunorejection upon transplantation seriously limit the applicability. Cardiac regeneration could provide a solution, making real a dream of both scientist and clinician in the previous century and ending an ongoing challenge for this century. In this review, we present a basic overview of the various cell types that have been used in both the clinical and research setting with respect to myocardial differentiation

The effect of smoking on early chorionic villous vascularisation

The aim aim of the study was to investigate whether first trimester chorionic villous vascularisation is different in women who smoked cigarettes before and during pregnancy in comparison with women who did not smoke. Placentas of smoking (>10 cigarettes/day, n = 13) and non-smoking women (n = 13), scheduled for a legal termination of a viable first trimester pregnancy for social indications, were retrieved. Placental tissues of 3-5 mm(3) were whole mount CD31 immunofluorescence stained. Images of the CD31 immunofluorescence and contour of the villi were captured using an Optical Projection Tomography scanner. An immersive BARCO virtual reality system was used to create an enlarged interactive 3-dimensional hologram of the reconstructed images. Automatic volume measurements were performed using a flexible and robust segmentation algorithm that is based on a region-growing approach in combination with a neighbourhood variation threshold. The villous volume, vascular volume and vascular density were measured for the total chorionic villous tree as well as for its central and peripheral parts. No differences in maternal age and gestational age were found between non-smoking and smoking women. No differences were found in the total, central and peripheral villous tree volume and vascular volume. The central (13.4% vs. 9.5%, p=0.03) and peripheral (8.4% vs. 6.4%, p=0.02) villous tree vascular densities were increased in the smoking women as compared with the non-smoking women. In conclusion, chorionic villous vascularisation is already altered in first trimester of pregnancy in women who smoked cigarettes before and during pregnancy. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserve

Isolation and characterization of the rat gene for carbamoylphosphate synthetase I

Carbamoylphosphate synthetase I (CbmPS) is first expressed in rat hepatocytes shortly before birth. After birth, expression of CbmPS gradually becomes confined to the hepatocytes surrounding the portal veins. To obtain insight into the spatiotemporal regulation of its expression, the rat CbmPS gene was isolated and characterized. The gene is 110 kb in length and contains 38 exons. The basal promoter comprises the first 161 nucleotides upstream of the transcription-initiation site. Determination of the state of methylation of the 5' portion of the gene identified a CCGG sequence at -6.3 kb that is selectively demethylated in adult tissues which express CbmPS. This site remains methylated before birth, however, despite recruitment of all hepatocytes for CbmPS synthesis, indicating that its demethylation is a consequence of rather than a condition for expression of CbmPS. Transient expression assays revealed that the region surrounding the CCGG site at 6.3 kb functions as an enhancer. In FTO-2B hepatoma cells and Rat-1 fibroblasts, this enhancer is constitutively active when tested in front of the basal viral thymidine kinase promoter. When tested in front of the basal CbmPS promoter in hepatoma cells, however, the activity of this enhancer is dependent on the presence of glucocorticoids. In Rat-1 fibroblasts, the presence of both glucocorticoids and cyclic AMP is required for full activity, suggesting that the hepatocyte-specific expression of CbmPS is related to tissue-specific differences in the sensitivity to cyclic AMP. Matrix-attachment regions (MAR) are present upstream and downstream of the CbmPS gene. The downstream MAR defines the 3' boundary of the gene. The upstream MAR is located midway between the basal promoter and the enhancer, and may function as a hinge point to facilitate the positioning of the enhancer in the vicinity of the basal promoter