PGP carries antibiotics, antivirals and antiparasitic drugs. In general, it removes drugs and toxic substances that can be passed to the fetus. This can be a problem in cases where a medication needs to reach the baby. BCRP is linked to the transport of folic acid. “When it increases too much, it can be harmful,” says the researcher. “We still don’t know if the decrease in these two carriers contributes to premature birth or if they are part of a mechanism that tries to prevent it.” To answer this question, it will be necessary to continue the studies, ideally with transgenic animals. So, the team can artificially increase and decrease these transporters in the placenta and evaluate these two effects on the triggering of premature birth. It could also be possible to achieve the same effects with some drugs, according to the researchers.
In addition to the scientific results of this basic research, which are important for the continuation of other studies, the project had some other positive side effects as well. Because of it, one of the team members, researcher Enrrico Bloise, from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), became a professor at the university and all of his research has developed out of this project. In addition, Tânia managed to create a vivarium, a place where animals are kept for later use in scientific experiments, in her laboratory and also a new line of research on the influence of ABC transporters on the placenta. “The Grand Challenges changed my career and my way of doing science,” she says.
