The use of Doppler ultrasonography in quantifying preeclamptic risk in rodents - insights from maternal exposures to ozone and cadmium.
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Ultrasonography is a robust imaging platform used to diagnose various cardiovascular conditions and identify structural alterations non-invasively. In addition to its use in monitoring fetal development, Doppler ultrasound is often employed to detect potential adverse blood flow patterns within the maternal-fetal compartment. While ultrasonography is standard care of practice in obstetrics, its use in preclinical models of maternal and fetal toxicity is still in its infancy. Nonetheless, as seen in humans, impaired blood flow in the uterine and spiral arteries is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes including gestational hypertension, growth restriction, and fetal loss in rats and mice. In our work, we have begun to incorporate this non-invasive and translatable imaging platform to characterize the effects of maternal exposure to pollutants of interest. This presentation will review the basics of uterine vascular remodeling and how alterations in this process can contribute to both maternal and fetal demise. Furthermore, we will discuss the use of Doppler ultrasonography to investigate the impacts of pollutants on vascular remodeling in preclinical models utilizing our work with ozone, noise stress, and cadmium as notable examples. Uterine artery Doppler ultrasound waveform patterns from pregnant Long-Evans rats will be presented. We will review how differences in these patterns have led to our mechanistic understanding of how early pregnancy ozone exposure may impair fetal growth, namely by altering arterial impedance in mid-gestation and preventing the typical reduction in resistance seen in control pregnancies. This abstract does not reflect U.S. EPA policy.