Effect of paternal folate deficiency on placental folate content and folate receptor alpha expression in rats.
- Author:
Hye Won KIM
1
;
Yun Jung CHOI
;
Ki Nam KIM
;
Tsunenobu TAMURA
;
Namsoo CHANG
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Paternal folate status; placental folate; placental weight; folate receptor alpha
- MeSH: Animals; Blotting, Western; Diet; Fetal Weight; Folate Receptor 1; Folic Acid; Humans; Litter Size; Male; Placenta; Pregnancy; Rats
- From:Nutrition Research and Practice 2011;5(2):112-116
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: We investigated the effect of paternal folate status on folate content and expression of the folate transporter folate receptor alpha (FRalpha) in rat placental tissues. Rats were mated after males were fed a diet containing 0 mg of folic acid/kg of diet (paternal folate-deficient, PD) or 8 mg folic acid/kg of diet (paternal folate-supplemented, PS) for 4 weeks. At 20 days of gestation, the litter size, placental weight, and fetal weight were measured, and placental folate content (n = 8/group) and expression of FRalpha (n = 10/group) were analyzed by microbiological assay and Western blot analysis, respectively. Although there was no difference observed in litter size or fetal weight, but significant reduction (10%) in the weight of the placenta was observed in the PD group compared to that in the PS group. In the PD group, placental folate content was significantly lower (by 35%), whereas FRalpha expression was higher (by 130%) compared to the PS group. Our results suggest that paternal folate status plays a critical role in regulating placental folate metabolism and transport.
