If so, the downregulation of MCT8 expression in IUGR neurons could be a protective mechanism to limit neuronal apoptosis at the expense of TH transport, of which the latter could be partially compensated for by other TH transporters expressed by neurons, as we and others have previously described in the human fetal cerebral cortex (Wirth et al. 2009, Chan et al. 2011). Here, SLC16A2 is linked to fetal growth restriction.