Serum from pregnant donors induces human beta cell proliferation.

Pancreatic beta cells are among the slowest replicating cells in the human body and have not been observed to increase in number except during the fetal and neonatal period, in cases of obesity, during puberty, as well as during pregnancy. Pregnancy is associated with increased beta cell mass to meet heightened insulin demands. This phenomenon raises the intriguing possibility that factors present in the serum of pregnant individuals may stimulate beta cell proliferation and offer insights into expansion of the beta cell mass for treatment and prevention of diabetes. The primary objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that serum from pregnant donors contains bioactive factors capable of inducing human beta cell proliferation. An immortalized human beta cell line with protracted replication (EndoC-ßH1) was cultured in media supplemented with serum from pregnant and non-pregnant female and male donors and assessed for differences in proliferation. This experiment was followed by assessment of proliferation of primary human beta cells. Sera from five out of six pregnant donors induced a significant increase in the proliferation rate of EndoC-ßH1 cells. Pooled serum from the cohort of pregnant donors also increased the rate of proliferation in primary human beta cells. This study demonstrates that serum from pregnant donors stimulates human beta cell proliferation. These findings suggest the existence of pregnancy-associated factors that can offer novel avenues for beta cell regeneration and diabetes prevention strategies. Further research is warranted to elucidate the specific factors responsible for this effect.

Serum from pregnant donors induces human beta cell proliferation and insulin secretion.

Pancreatic beta cells are among the slowest replicating cells in the human body. Human beta cells usually do not increase in number with exceptions being during the neonatal period, in cases of obesity, and during pregnancy. This project explored maternal serum for stimulatory potential on human beta cell proliferation and insulin output. Gravid, full-term women who were scheduled to undergo cesarean delivery were recruited for this study. A human beta cell line was cultured in media supplemented with serum from pregnant and non-pregnant donors and assessed for differences in proliferation and insulin secretion. A subset of pregnant donor sera induced significant increases in beta cell proliferation and insulin secretion. Pooled serum from pregnant donors also increased proliferation in primary human beta cells but not primary human hepatocytes indicating a cell-type specific effect. This study suggests stimulatory factors in human serum during pregnancy could provide a novel approach for human beta cell expansion.

Perinatal Health Outcomes Across Rural and Nonrural Counties Within a Single Health System Catchment.

Background: Perinatal health outcomes are influenced by a variety of socioeconomic, behavioral, and economic factors that reduce access to health services. Despite these observations, rural communities continue to face barriers, including a lack of resources and the fragmentation of health services. Objective: To evaluate patterns in health outcomes, health behaviors, socioeconomic vulnerability, and sociodemographic characteristics across rural and nonrural counties within a single health system catchment area. Methods: Socioeconomic vulnerability metrics, health care access as determined by licensed provider metrics, and behavioral data were obtained from FlHealthCHARTS.gov and the County Health Rankings. County-level birth and health data were obtained from the Florida Department of Health. The University of Florida Health Perinatal Catchment Area (UFHPCA) was defined as all Florida counties where ≥5% of all infants were delivered at Shands Hospital between June 2011 and April 2017. Results: The UFHPCA included 3 nonrural and 10 rural counties that represented more than 64,000 deliveries. Nearly 1 in 3 infants resided in a rural county, and 7 out of 13 counties did not have a licensed obstetrician gynecologist. Maternal smoking rates (range 6.8%-24.8%) were above the statewide rate (6.2%). Except for Alachua County, breastfeeding initiation rates (range 54.9%-81.4%) and access to household computing devices (range 72.8%-86.4%) were below the statewide rate (82.9% and 87.9%, respectively). Finally, we found that childhood poverty rates (range 16.3%-36.9%) were above the statewide rate (18.5%). Furthermore, risk ratios suggested negative health outcomes for residents of counties within the UFHPCA for each measure, except for infant mortality and maternal deaths, which lacked sample sizes to adequately test. Conclusions: The health burden of the UFHPCA is characterized by rural counties with increased maternal death, neonatal death, and preterm birth, as well as adverse health behaviors that included increased smoking during pregnancy and lower levels of breastfeeding relative to nonrural counties. Understanding perinatal health outcomes across a single health system has potential to not only estimate community needs but also facilitate planning of health care initiatives and interventions in rural and low-resource communities.

Peripartum women's perspectives on research study participation in the OneFlorida Clinical Research Consortium during COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented need for population-level clinical trials focused on the discovery of life-saving therapies and treatments. However, there is limited information on perception of research participation among perinatal populations, a population of particular interest during the pandemic. Methods: Eligible respondents were 18 years or older, were currently pregnant or had an infant (≤12 months old), and lived in Florida within 50 miles of sites participating in the OneFlorida Clinical Research Consortium. Respondents were recruited via Qualtrics panels between April and September 2020. Respondents completed survey items about barriers and facilitators to participation and answered sociodemographic questions. Results: Of 533 respondents, most were between 25 and 34 years of age (n = 259, 49%) and identified as White (n = 303, 47%) and non-Hispanic (n = 344, 65%). Facebook was the most popular social media platform among our respondents. The most common barriers to research participation included poor explanation of study goals, discomforts to the infant, and time commitment. Recruitment through healthcare providers was perceived as the best way to learn about clinical research studies. When considering research participation, "myself" had the greatest influence, followed by familial ties. Noninvasive biological samples were highly acceptable. Hispanics had higher positive perspectives on willingness to participate in a randomized study (p = 0.009). Education (p = 0.007) had significant effects on willingness to release personal health information. Conclusion: When recruiting women during the pregnancy and postpartum periods for perinatal studies, investigators should consider protocols that account for common barriers and preferred study information sources. Social media-based recruitment is worthy of adoption.

Outcomes of pregnancies at high-risk for placenta accreta spectrum following negative diagnostic imaging.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the pretest and negative post-test probability for placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) in a group of patients with high-risk clinical factors. METHODS: We included patients with suspected and/or confirmed PAS at our institution over 8 years. Sonography performed by maternal-fetal medicine specialists, and selected patients underwent MRI. Imaging was considered positive if either sonography or MRI suggested PAS. Histopathology was the gold standard for diagnosis of PAS. We assessed the pretest and negative imaging-test probability, and resources required. RESULTS: We identified 82 high-risk patients with the following: (1) a history of ≥1 cesarean section and/or intrauterine gynecologic procedure and placenta previa in the index pregnancy; (2) a history of >3 cesarean deliveries and/or gynecologic procedures regardless of placental location; (3) prior PAS disorder, or retained placenta requiring manual extraction and/or curettage, complicated by postpartum hemorrhage; and (4) suspected cesarean section scar pregnancy. Histopathology confirmed PAS in 52 patients, with pretest probability of 63%. Imaging correctly identified 44/50 cases with PAS, and excluded this condition in 24/30 cases. Thus, the positive and negative post-test probability for PAS following negative imaging was 88 and 20%, respectively. Of the six patients with false-negative imaging, all had either surgical complications or required care beyond that for routine cesarean section. CONCLUSIONS: Although diagnostic imaging is sensitive, the negative posttest probability remains high in women with high pretest probability for PAS. Therefore, women at high risk for PAS should be managed in experienced centers by a multidisciplinary team even if imaging is negative.

Perspectives of Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women on Participating in Longitudinal Mother-Baby Studies Involving Electronic Health Records: Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Electronic health records (EHRs) hold great potential for longitudinal mother-baby studies, ranging from assessing study feasibility to facilitating patient recruitment to streamlining study visits and data collection. Existing studies on the perspectives of pregnant and breastfeeding women on EHR use have been limited to the use of EHRs to engage in health care rather than to participate in research. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to explore the perspectives of pregnant and breastfeeding women on releasing their own and their infants' EHR data for longitudinal research to identify factors affecting their willingness to participate in research. METHODS: We conducted semistructured interviews with pregnant or breastfeeding women from Alachua County, Florida. Participants were asked about their familiarity with EHRs and EHR patient portals, their comfort with releasing maternal and infant EHR data to researchers, the length of time of the data release, and whether individual research test results should be included in the EHR. The interviews were transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were organized and coded using the NVivo 12 software (QSR International), and coded data were thematically analyzed using constant comparison. RESULTS: Participants included 29 pregnant or breastfeeding women aged between 22 and 39 years. More than half of the sample had at least an associate degree or higher. Nearly all participants (27/29, 93%) were familiar with EHRs and had experience accessing an EHR patient portal. Less than half of the participants (12/29, 41%) were willing to make EHR data available to researchers for the duration of a study or longer. Participants' concerns about sharing EHRs for research purposes emerged in 3 thematic domains: privacy and confidentiality, transparency by the research team, and surrogate decision-making on behalf of infants. The potential release of sensitive or stigmatizing information, such as mental or sexual health history, was considered in the decisions to release EHRs. Some participants viewed the simultaneous use of their EHRs for both health care and research as potentially beneficial, whereas others expressed concerns about mixing their health care with research. CONCLUSIONS: This exploratory study indicates that pregnant and breastfeeding women may be willing to release EHR data to researchers if researchers adequately address their concerns regarding the study design, communication, and data management. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should be included in EHR-based research as long as researchers are prepared to address their concerns.

Infections in Pregnancy and the Role of Vaccines.

Pregnant women are at risk for infection and may have significant morbidity or mortality. Influenza, pertussis, zika, and cytomegalovirus produce mild or asymptomatic illness in the mother, but have profound implications for her fetus. Maternal immunization can prevent or mitigate infections in pregnant women and their infants. The Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices recommends 2 vaccines during pregnancy: inactivated influenza, and tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis during pregnancy. The benefits of MMR, varicella, and other vaccines are reviewed. Novel vaccine studies for use during pregnancy for prevention of illness are explored.