Evaluative and Clinical Perinatal Research Unit (URCEP)

MIROS - Maternal Infant Research in Oxidative Stress

Oxidative stress has been implicated in the etiology of many diseases with substantial public health impact including chronic cardiovascular disorders, diabetes and preeclampsia. There is increasing evidence that fetal programming may be critically important in the etiology of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. However, little is known about the potentially profound impact of prenatal antioxidant exposure to counter oxidative stress on pregnancy outcomes and fetal programming of type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disorders. The overall objectives of this proposed research program are to understand the effects and mechanisms of antioxidants on several important pregnancy and infant outcomes (preeclampsia, restricted or excessive fetal growth and the early indicators of programming of type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disorders), while taking advantage of a unique pregnancy cohort from a recently launched large randomized controlled trial (the International Trial of Antioxidants for the Prevention of Preeclampsia - INTAPP). Approximately half of the INTAPP pregnant women will have taken high-dose antioxidant vitamin C and E treatment from early pregnancy to delivery. It is quite plausible that such a unique prenatal intervention to block oxidative stress-mediated pathways may have an important impact on both the outcomes of pregnancy and fetal programming of type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disorders. Nutritional, environmental and genetic exposures may interact in modulating oxidative stress and consequently the risk of these adverse outcomes. The use of the INTAPP pregnancy cohort for this transdisciplinary research program will create a unique synergy for assessing the roles of oxidative stress and antioxidants in preeclampsia, IUGR and early indicators of adverse programming under in vivo experimental trial settings for the first time.