Role of placental exosomes in programming metabolic health

The placenta is the interface between mother and fetus, integrating signals between the two. The placenta releases factors such as proteins and miRNAs that can impact on maternal and fetal physiology. Some of these will be released from the placenta within extra-cellular vesicles (EVs), but how their content is modulated by an obese diabetic environment and how it impacts on maternal and offspring health is unknown. 

This project will explore how the placental secretome, including EV content, is modulated by obesity and diabetes during pregnancy and define how these changes have short and long-term consequences on maternal and offspring metabolism. The project will involve:
(1) profiling the placental secretome in healthy and obese diabetic pregnancies
(2) determining the protein and miRNA content of placental EVs isolated from lean and obese diabetic murine pregnancies
(3) establishing the effects of secreted placental proteins on maternal and offspring metabolism
(4) a combination of in vitro and in vivo experiments to establish the functional consequences of the changes in placental EV protein and miRNA content