Journal
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
Volume 213, Issue 19, Pages 3340-3347Publisher
COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.046862
Keywords
lizard; viviparity; uterus; angiogenesis; embryo; Eulamprus quoyii
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Funding
- Australian Research Council
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We have discovered a modification of the uterus that appears to facilitate maternal-fetal communication during pregnancy in the scincid lizard Eulamprus quoyii. A vessel-dense elliptical area (VDE) on the mesometrial side of the uterus expands as the embryo grows, providing a large vascular area for physiological exchange between mother and embryo. The VDE is already developed in females with newly ovulated eggs, and is situated directly adjacent to the chorioallantois of the embryo when it develops. It is likely that signals from the early developing embryo determine the position of the VDE, as the VDE is off-centre in cases where the embryo sits obliquely in the uterus. The VDE is not a modification of the uterus over the entire chorioallantoic placenta, as the VDE is smaller than the chorioallantois after embryonic stage 33, but expansion of the VDE and growth of the chorioallantois during pregnancy are strongly correlated. The expansion of the VDE is also strongly correlated with embryonic growth and increasing embryonic oxygen demand ((V) over dot(O2)). We propose that angiogenic stimuli are exchanged between the VDE and the chorioallantois in E. quoyii, allowing the simultaneous growth of both tissues.
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