Abstract
STUDIES in animals suggest that foetal cortisol (F) may have an important role in foetal lung maturation and the mechanism of parturition. In man the situation is complicated by the greater permeability of the placenta to this hormone1 and its intraplacental conversion to its biologically inactive metabolite, cortisone (E) (refs 2–4). Many other foetal tissues also convert F to E (ref. 5). As a result, human foetal blood contains a relatively large amount of E, and a lower F : E ratio. Recently, we observed that the F : E ratio of amniotic fluid is considerably higher than that of cord serum6. To explore this, the possible influences of the foetal kidney, skin, gastro-intestinal tract, lung and membranes were investigated; only the chorionic membrane was found to convert cortisone to cortisol.
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PEARSON MURPHY, B. Chorionic membrane as an extra-adrenal source of foetal cortisol in human amniotic fluid. Nature 266, 179–181 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/266179a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/266179a0
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