ReviewEndocrine reviews2011
Development and function of the human fetal adrenal cortex: a key component in the feto-placental unit.
Review in Endocrine reviews, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 139 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
139 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 370 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neonatal Hair Cortisol and Birth Outcomes: An Empirical Study and Meta-Analysis.Psychosomatic medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Human and mouse adrenal glands are characterized by species-specific steroidogenic states and tissue turnover.Nature genetics · 2026Article
- Compartmentalization of DHCR7 links 7-DHC metabolism to B-ring unsaturated steroid synthesis in the equine fetal gonad.Endocrinology · 2026Article
- Glucocorticoid trajectories in preterm infants-born too soon, wired differently.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Article
- Fetal Adrenal Gland Ultrasound Parameters in Pregnancies with Fetal Growth Restriction Defined by Delphi Criteria: A Prospective Single-Center Case-Control Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Endocrinology at a Miniature Level: Pluripotent Stem-Cell-Derived Organoid Models of Hypothalamus-Pituitary Axes.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- A Two-Step LC-MS/MS method to differentiate 21OHD and PORD in Screen-Positive newborns.Endocrine · 2026Article
- Fetal Cortisol Exposure and Offspring Socioemotional Development.Developmental psychobiology · 2026Article
- Adrenarche as a regulator of sensitivity to early adversity.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2026Review
- Placental Protein Release and Uptake From the Fetal Circulation in Healthy Term Pregnancies-A Human In Vivo Exploratory Study.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026Article
- Early Prophylactic Hydrocortisone and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia-Free Survival in Extremely Preterm Infants.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Elevation of corticosterone and 17OH progesterone in extremely preterm infants and clinical implications.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Neonatal reference intervals for salivary steroids: focus on prematurity, stressful events and perinatal betamethasone.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Identification of conserved canonical marker genes in human and mouse adrenal glands using Visium spatial transcriptomics.Histochemistry and cell biology · 2025Article
- Understanding the Causal Impact of Elevated Maternal Stress During Pregnancy: A Systematic Literature Review of Guinea Pig Models.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Adrenocortical stem cells in health and disease.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2025Review
- Experiences of discrimination during pregnancy predict altered neonatal hair cortisol at birth.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Developmental Parallels Between the Human Organs of Zuckerkandl and Adrenal Medulla.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Prophylactic low-dose hydrocortisone in neonates born extremely preterm: current knowledge and future challenges.Pediatric research · 2025Review
79 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Continuous efforts have been devoted to unraveling the biophysiology and development of the human fetal adrenal cortex, which is structurally and functionally unique from other species. It plays a pivotal role, mainly through steroidogenesis, in the regulation of intrauterine homeostasis and in fetal development and maturation. The steroidogenic activity is characterized by early transient cortisol biosynthesis, followed by its suppressed synthesis until late gestation, and extensive production of dehydroepiandrosterone and its sulfate, precursors of placental estrogen, during most of gestation. The gland rapidly grows through processes including cell proliferation and angiogenesis at the gland periphery, cellular migration, hypertrophy, and apoptosis. Recent studies employing modern technologies such as gene expression profiling and laser capture microdissection have revealed that development and/or function of the fetal adrenal cortex may be regulated by a panoply of molecules, including transcription factors, extracellular matrix components, locally produced growth factors, and placenta-derived CRH, in addition to the primary regulator, fetal pituitary ACTH. The role of the fetal adrenal cortex in human pregnancy and parturition appears highly complex, probably due to redundant and compensatory mechanisms regulating these events. Mounting evidence indicates that actions of hormones operating in the human feto-placental unit are likely mediated by mechanisms including target tissue responsiveness, local metabolism, and bioavailability, rather than changes only in circulating levels. Comprehensive study of such molecular mechanisms and the newly identified factors implicated in adrenal development should help crystallize our understanding of the development and physiology of the human fetal adrenal cortex.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.