IPHYS has received support from the Neoli Foundation for a two-year research project led by MUDr. Jan Kopecký, DrSc. of the Laboratory of Adipose Tissue Biology. The project will investigate the still incompletely understood role of steroid hormone metabolism in the fetal liver in triggering preterm birth.
Preterm birth is a serious issue for newborns, their families, and healthcare systems. The onset of labour involves the interplay of numerous biological processes, including changes in the levels of steroid hormones such as progesterone, estradiol and estriol. These hormones are produced within an interconnected system involving the mother, placenta and fetus. The new project, Steroid Metabolism in the Fetal Liver in Preterm Birth, supported by the Neoli Foundation, will examine whether the fetal liver plays a more significant role in the production and transformation of hormones that influence the timing of birth than has previously been assumed. The researchers will focus in particular on estriol and its precursors, whose levels may reflect the links between the fetus and the placenta.
“We would like to describe in detail the changes in steroid hormone levels during the final trimester of pregnancy and their relationship to preterm birth and antenatal corticosteroid administration. We hope that a deeper understanding of these relationships will make it possible to refine and improve recommendations for the care of expectant mothers, with the aim of achieving optimal steroid hormone levels that may help delay impending preterm birth,” explains Jan Kopecký, outlining the project’s main objective.
The team will draw on unique existing and newly emerging collections of tissue and blood samples obtained through long-term collaboration with neonatologists at the General University Hospital in Prague. Using state-of-the-art analytical approaches, the researchers will measure levels of steroid hormones and other substances in detail. Support from the Neoli Foundation will cover a substantial part of the costly analyses. The project began on 1 September 2026 and is scheduled to run for 24 months.
