{"id":2336,"date":"2026-07-03T09:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T06:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/drug-targeting\/?page_id=2336"},"modified":"2026-07-03T09:49:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T06:49:46","slug":"placental-targeting","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/drug-targeting\/placental-targeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Placental Targeting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The placenta plays a central role in regulating the exchange of nutrients, endogenous compounds, and xenobiotics between the mother and the developing fetus. Understanding the molecular mechanisms governing placental transport is essential for improving maternal and fetal health and for developing safer therapies during pregnancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2021, we have collaborated with <strong>Professor Jaana Rys\u00e4 (University of Eastern Finland, School of Pharmacy\/Toxicology)<\/strong> to investigate diabetes-associated changes in the placental proteome and metabolome. Leveraging samples and data from the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/kubico.fi\/\" id=\"https:\/\/kubico.fi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kuopio Birth Cohort (KuBiCo)<\/a><\/strong>, we aim to identify placental proteins and metabolites that could serve as predictive biomarkers of fetal wellbeing, postnatal development, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. We are also interested in uncovering molecular mechanisms linking maternal diabetes to altered fetal growth and development, including potential sex-specific effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Building on this expertise, we are expanding our research toward <strong>transporter-mediated placental targeting and maternal\u2013fetal precision therapeutics<\/strong>. By identifying placental transport pathways that can be selectively exploited for drug delivery, we aim to develop safer and more effective treatments for pregnancy-related disorders while minimizing fetal exposure. Ultimately, our goal is to establish new approaches for precision medicine during pregnancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/drug-targeting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2026\/07\/Abstract-simple-1024x349.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2341\" style=\"aspect-ratio:2.9340737438334283;width:555px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/drug-targeting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2026\/07\/Abstract-simple-1024x349.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/drug-targeting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2026\/07\/Abstract-simple-300x102.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/drug-targeting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2026\/07\/Abstract-simple-768x262.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/drug-targeting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2026\/07\/Abstract-simple-1536x524.png 1536w, https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/drug-targeting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/59\/2026\/07\/Abstract-simple-2048x698.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Selected Publications<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Swan, J.; Zhurenko, D.; <strong>Huttunen, K. M.<\/strong>; Rys\u00e4, J. Chemical Disruption of Placental Thyroid Hormone Signalling: A Systematic Review that Highlights Sex-Specific Effects. <strong><em>Archives of Toxicology<\/em><\/strong>, <strong>2026<\/strong>, <em>100(1):<\/em> 75-93. (<strong>REVIEW<\/strong>) <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00204-025-04203-z\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00204-025-04203-z<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The placenta plays a central role in regulating the exchange of nutrients, endogenous compounds, and xenobiotics between the mother and the developing fetus. Understanding the molecular mechanisms governing placental transport is essential for improving maternal and fetal health and for developing safer therapies during pregnancy. Since 2021, we have collaborated with Professor Jaana Rys\u00e4 (University [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1241,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2336","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Placental Targeting - Transporter Targeted Drug Delivery<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/drug-targeting\/placental-targeting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Placental Targeting - Transporter Targeted Drug Delivery\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The placenta plays a central role in regulating the exchange of nutrients, endogenous compounds, and xenobiotics between the mother and the developing fetus. Understanding the molecular mechanisms governing placental transport is essential for improving maternal and fetal health and for developing safer therapies during pregnancy. 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