# CONTROL OF LIPOPROTEIN AND STEROID LEVELS IN THE FETUS

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 1993 · $144,522

## Abstract

We previously have provided evidence that (1) steroidogenesis in the
human fetal adrenal, which is normally accelerated during the last 6-10
weeks of gestation, is impaired in newborns of women with pregnancy
complication (hypertension, diabetes, severe infections); (2) plasma
lipoproteins, particularly low-density lipoproteins (LDL). facilitate
fetal adrenal steroid secretion in vitro; (3) fetal plasma levels of
cholesterol (c), especially LDL-C, appear to be regulated, in part, by
the rate of uptake by the fetal adrenals, being high when the adrenal is
quiescent and being low when adrenal activity is highest; (4) lung
maturation appears to be related to the endocrine milieu of the fetus,
especially those hormones produced directly or indirectly from the fetal
adrenal. Thus, we purpose (1) to define the trophic regulation of the
fetal adrenal during normal and complicated pregnancy by quantifying
fetal plasma ACTH and other POMC-derived peptides throughout the latter
half of gestation under varied circumstances of maternal/fetal health;
(2) to elucidate mechanisms for the seemingly independent function of the
fetal and neocortical zones of the human fetal adrenal by evaluating the
utilization in steroidogenesis of lipoprotein-C assimilated by receptor-
mediated and receptor-independent pathways and of C synthesized de novo
in the separated zones of the fetal adrenal, processes as well as the
production of steroidogenic enzymes and the LDL receptor in the fetal
adrenal; and (4) to define the factors that regulate fetal plasma
lipoproteins by investigating apolipoprotein synthesis by the fetal liver
and by quantifying fatal plasma lipoprotein-c and apolipoproteins during
normal and complicated pregnancy. The results of these studies should be
fundamental to an understanding of several aspects of fetal development
and of the differential regulation of zonal function in the adrenal and
lipoprotein homeostasis during postnatal life.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2198722
- **Project number:** 5R01HD022969-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **SAM.gov UEI:** YND4PLMC9AN7
- **Principal Investigator:** Charles RICHARD PARKER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $144,522
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1986-07-01 → 1995-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2198722

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2198722, CONTROL OF LIPOPROTEIN AND STEROID LEVELS IN THE FETUS (5R01HD022969-07). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2198722. Licensed CC0.

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