| Summary: | Charles University, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Candidate Mgr. Rona Karahoda Supervisor Prof. PharmDr. Frantisek Staud, Ph.D. Title of Doctoral Thesis Physiological and pharmacological aspects of tryptophan and serotonin homeostasis in the fetoplacental unit The placenta is an ephemeral organ inevitable for the successful course of pregnancy. As the main link between the mother and the fetus, the placenta fulfills numerous roles during gestation, including endocrine, transport, and immunoprotective processes. Proper functioning of the placenta is critical for the normal growth and development of the embryo/fetus. Importantly, the latest research has associated perturbations of maternal conditions (such as pharmacotherapy, malnutrition, diseases, stress, or inflammation) with alterations of the trophoblasts' endocrine, transport, and metabolic functions. Of note is the placental utilization of the essential amino acid tryptophan, suggested as a potential mechanism contributing to fetal programming of adulthood diseases. Tryptophan flux along the serotonin and kynurenine pathways generates metabolites with neuroactive, immunosuppressive, and antioxidant properties. Current literature suggests that fine-tuning of tryptophan metabolite concentrations...
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