The Heart-Placenta Axis in the First Month of Pregnancy: Induction and Prevention of Cardiovascular Birth Defects

Figure 4

In comparison to placental cells of control embryo ((a)–(d)), one exposure of embryos to a binge-level of alcohol during gastrulation resulted in an upregulation of NMHC-IIB in all cell populations of the placenta more than a week after exposure, as observed at mid-gestation (embryonic day 15.5; (e)–(h)). Folate supplementation prevents the upregulation and maintains normal protein expression ((i)–(l)). Negative control is shown in bottom row ((m)–(p)). Figure from Han et al., 2012 [17].

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