Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013, 14(3), 5380-5401; doi:10.3390/ijms14035380
Roles of Melatonin in Fetal Programming in Compromised Pregnancies
1
Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan
2
Center for Translational Research in Biomedical Sciences, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan
3
Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chang Gung University, Linkow 333, Taiwan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 17 February 2013 / Revised: 25 February 2013 / Accepted: 25 February 2013 / Published: 6 March 2013
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Research of Melatonin)
Abstract
Compromised pregnancies such as those associated with gestational diabetes mellitus, intrauterine growth retardation, preeclampsia, maternal undernutrition, and maternal stress may negatively affect fetal development. Such pregnancies may induce oxidative stress to the fetus and alter fetal development through the epigenetic process that may affect development at a later stage. Melatonin is an oxidant scavenger that reverses oxidative stress during the prenatal period. Moreover, the role of melatonin in epigenetic modifications in the field of developmental programming has been studied extensively. Here, we describe the physiological function of melatonin in pregnancy and discuss the roles of melatonin in fetal programming in compromised pregnancies, focusing on its involvement in redox and epigenetic mechanisms. View Full-TextKeywords:
melatonin; epigenetic; fetal programming; redox; pregnancy
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
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Chen, Y.-C.; Sheen, J.-M.; Tiao, M.-M.; Tain, Y.-L.; Huang, L.-T. Roles of Melatonin in Fetal Programming in Compromised Pregnancies. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013, 14, 5380-5401.
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