Projects
Ex Vivo Placental Dual Perfusion Model
The Hutson/Garcia-Bournissen lab focuses on using the ex vivo placental dual perfusion model and physiology-based pharmacokinetics to study drug transfer in the placenta. The current drugs we are studying include:
Many individuals enter pregnancy using marijuana and continue to use during pregnancy, despite concerns regarding potential effects on the developing brain. In pregnancy we are faced with treating two individual patients, the mother and her fetus, even if the treatment was intended solely for the mother. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of drug transfer from the mother to the fetus is crucial to ensuring the well-being of the maternal-fetal pair. A validated method for studying drug transfer in pregnancy is the placental perfusion model which uses placentas discarded after birth to study if drugs cross the placenta.
Molnupiravir/Nirmatrelvir
As of July 20, 2022, there have been 562,672,324 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6,367,793 deaths received by the World Health Organization from national authorities. Two antivirals have been developed to treat patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir. However, as with most new medications, the phase III trial for molnupiravir excluded pregnant women. Given the potential of these oral medications to decrease the severity of COVID-19 infection, their safety profile in pregnancy is urgently needed.
Investigation of N,N,N-trimethyl-L-alanyl-L-proline betaine (TMAP) as a potential preeclampsia biomarker
Preeclampsia is a form of hypertension during pregnancy that can lead to serious problems for mothers and their infants after birth. It is a prevelant problem worldwide, leading to many deaths of both mother and baby. Pregnant mothers with preeclampsia can suffer from serious health issues such as kidney failure and the only way to cure preeclampsia is delivery of the baby. There is currently no way to monitor for kidney failure until it has caused serious harm. There is a new molecule, N,N,N-trimethyl-L-alanyl-L proline (TMAP),which is a metabolite being studied as an early marker for kidney damage in kideny transplant patients. In this study, we investigate if TMAP can also be used as an early predictor for kidney damage in preeclampsia.
