Molecular Stress Biology

PI: Edit Hermesz, PhD. associate professor

There is increasing evidence that maternal smoking during pregnancy exert a marked impact on the outcome of in-utero development and even mediate long-lasting health consequences. Many of the compounds present in cigarette smoke are regarded as harmful toxicants playing crucial roles in the pathogenesis of certain severe illnesses, cardiovascular disorders. It has been hypothesized that many of the adverse effects may result from oxidative damage to proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. The primary goal of our studies is an investigation of the impact of an improper maternal lifestyle on the developing fetus.
We study the consequences of maternal smoking on the umbilical cord vessels and red blood cells from umbilical cord arteries at the moment of birth, assuming that these would reflect the in-utero conditions. We look for a potential rescue mechanism/compensatory role of fetal red blood cells, based on the newly described “erythrocrine function” in case of sustained maternal smoking-induced endothelial dysfunction.

All publications on: PubMed