Fetally-encoded GDF15 and maternal GDF15 sensitivity are major determinants of nausea and vomiting in human pregnancy

Publication: Nature

M. Fejzo, N. Rocha, I. Cimino, S. M. Lockhart, C. J. Petry, R. G. Kay, K. Burling, P. Barker, A. L. George, N. Yasara, A. Premawardhena, S. Gong, E. Cook, D. Rimmington, K. Rainbow, D. J. Withers, V. Cortessis, P. M. Mullin, K. W. MacGibbon, E. Jin, A. Kam, A. Campbell, O. Polasek, G. Tzoneva, F. M. Gribble, G. S. H. Yeo, B. Y. H. Lam, V. Saudek, I. A. Hughes, K. K. Ong, J. R. B. Perry, A. Sutton Cole, M. Baumgarten, P. Welsh, N. Sattar, G. C. S. Smith, D. S. Charnock-Jones, A. P. Coll, C. L. Meek, S. Mettananda, C. Hayward, N. Mancuso & S. O’Rahilly

Summary

13 December 2023

A Cambridge-led study supported by the NIHR Cambridge BRC has shown why many women experience nausea and vomiting during pregnancy – and why some women become so sick they need to be admitted to hospital. The culprit is a hormone produced by the fetus – a protein known as GDF15. But how sick the mother feels depends on a combination of how much of the hormone is produced by the fetus and how much exposure the mother had to this hormone before becoming pregnant. Read the full news story.

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