Placental Plasticity: Understanding How Nutrition and Management Alters Uteroplacental Blood Flow

Livestock producers are interested in utilizing nutrients in the most efficient way to optimize growth. Often, one tends to focus on the growth that an animal achieves after birth, however, the majority of mammalian livestock (i.e. swine, sheep, and cattle) spend 35-40% of their life (i.e. from conception to consumption) within the uterus, being nourished solely by the placenta. The amount of blood flow to the uterus and through the placenta is a major contributor to nutrient uptake of the fetus in livestock, due to the non-invasiveness of their placental attachment. Development of the placenta appears to be influenced by many different extrinsic factors, including nutritional status, which ultimately can program placental function. For the last 10 years, we have focused on how the maternal nutritional status and other stressors can impact umbilical and/or uterine blood flow in cattle, sheep, and swine. Moreover, our laboratory has determined that placental arterial function can be altered by maternal nutrient status. The ultimate goal of this research is to determine how we can either alter production practices or provide therapeutics in order to achieve optimal nutrient delivery in utero so that the offspring experiences an optimal post-natal growth trajectory.