Sigal Klainbart, Slon, Alexandra , Kelmer, Efrat , Bdolah-Abram, Tali , Raz, Tal , Segev, Gilad , Aroch, Itamar , and Tal, Smadar . 2017.
“Global Hemostasis In Healthy Bitches During Pregnancy And At Different Estrous Cycle Stages: Evaluation Of Routine Hemostatic Tests And Thromboelastometry”. Theriogenology, 97, Pp. 57-66. doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.04.023.
Abstract This study assessed the global hemostasis (including prothrombin time [PT], activated partial thromboplastin time [aPTT], antithrombin activity [ATA], fibrinogen and d-Dimer concentrations, platelet count, plateletcrit and thromboelastometry) in healthy pregnant bitches, comparing the results with those of healthy bitches at different estrous cycle stages, and assessed whether hemostatic changes during pregnancy are associated with serum progesterone concentration or the presence of fetuses in utero. The results show that pregnant bitches have higher fibrinogen concentration, platelet count and platelatecrit, and that fibrin and global clot formations occur faster than in non-pregnant bitches at different estrous cycle stages. Additionally, clot strength was higher in pregnant bitches than in non-pregnant ones. There were no differences in PT, ATA, and D-dimer concentration between all study groups. The aPTT was significantly shorter in bitches at the fourth and last pregnancy weeks, compared to the anestrus group, and shorter in both the fourth and last pregnancy weeks groups, compared to diestrus group. These results all support a hypercoagulable state in healthy pregnant bitches, unassociated with progesterone concentration.
Katrien Vandoorne, Raz, Tal , Sapoznik, Stav , Biton, Inbal E, Garbow, Joel R. , and Neeman, Michal . 2017.
“In Vivo Preclinical Imaging Of Developmental Biology”. In Small Animal Imaging.
Abstract Embryonic development, the generation of a living organism from a fertilized egg, poses some of the most intriguing challenges of biological research. Aberrations in development can arise from genetic alterations in the fetus, which can vary in the degree of penetration, and can also result from direct and indirect pathological processes affecting the fetus or the mother. Impaired fetal development is a major cause of premature morbidity and mortality. Dynamic imaging of the live fetus provides an important tool for elucidating the normal and pathological developmental changes occurring during pregnancy. In particular, as part of efforts for functional mapping of the genome using genetically modified animals, detailed analysis of fetal development in laboratory animals is central in elucidating the function of genes and the impact of alteration in gene expression. Moreover, imaging biomarkers developed in the context of basic biological research could provide the foundations for future prenatal clinical imaging. In this chapter, we will review recent developments in the use of noninvasive imaging for longitudinal monitoring of live embryos in small laboratory animals, with particular focus on in utero imaging of fetal development in the mouse.
