A Protocol for Evaluating Vital Signs and Maternal-Fetal Parameters Using High-Resolution Ultrasound in Pregnant Mice

Jose Galaz; Roberto Romero; Marcia Arenas-Hernandez; Bogdan Panaitescu; Valeria Garcia-Flores; Nardhy Gomez-Lopez

doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2020.100134

A Protocol for Evaluating Vital Signs and Maternal-Fetal Parameters Using High-Resolution Ultrasound in Pregnant Mice

STAR Protoc. 2020 Oct 22;1(3):100134. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2020.100134. eCollection 2020 Dec 18.

Authors

Jose Galaz^{1

2

3}, Roberto Romero^{1

4

5

6

7

8}, Marcia Arenas-Hernandez^{1

2}, Bogdan Panaitescu^{1

2}, Valeria Garcia-Flores^{1

2}, Nardhy Gomez-Lopez^{1

2

9}

Affiliations

¹ Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Detroit, MI, USA.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.
³ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
⁶ Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.
⁷ Detroit Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USA.
⁸ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.
⁹ Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.

Abstract

Pregnancy is a unique physiological state in which two individuals coexist: the mother and the fetus. Disruption of maternal-fetal crosstalk leads to pregnancy and neonatal pathologies. Therefore, assessing maternal-fetal well-being is essential for understanding the physiological and pathological processes occurring during pregnancy. Herein, we provide a protocol that allows for the determination of body temperature, blood pressure, and the evaluation of uterine and umbilical arteries as well as maternal and fetal heart rate using high-resolution ultrasound in pregnant mice. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Gomez-Lopez et al. (2020).

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Blood Pressure / physiology
Female
Fetal Monitoring / methods*
Fetus / blood supply
Heart Rate, Fetal
Maternal-Fetal Exchange / physiology*
Mice
Pregnancy
Prenatal Care
Ultrasonography / methods
Ultrasonography, Prenatal / methods*
Umbilical Arteries / diagnostic imaging
Uterus / blood supply
Vital Signs / physiology

Grants and funding

HHSN275201300006C/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States