Placental 13C-DHA metabolism and relationship with maternal BMI, glycemia and birthweight

Placental 13C-DHA metabolism and relationship with maternal BMI, glycemia and birthweight

Molecular Medicine

10.1186/s10020-021-00344-w

http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s10020-021-00344-w

Oliver C. Watkins, Preben Selvam, Reshma Appukuttan Pillai, Victoria K. B. Cracknell-Hazra, Hannah E. J. Yong, Neha Sharma, Amaury Cazenave-Gassiot, Anne K. Bendt, Keith M. Godfrey, Rohan M. Lewis, Markus R. Wenk, Shiao-Yng Chan

Molecular Biology, Molecular Medicine, Genetics (clinical), genetics

06 August 2021

Watkins, O. C., Selvam, P., Appukuttan Pillai, R., Cracknell-Hazra, V. K. B., Yong, H. E. J., Sharma, N., Cazenave-Gassiot, A., Bendt, A. K., Godfrey, K. M., Lewis, R. M., Wenk, M. R., & Chan, S.-Y. (2021). Placental 13C-DHA metabolism and relationship with maternal BMI, glycemia and birthweight. Molecular Medicine, 27(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s10020-021-00344-w

Abstract Background Fetal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supply relies on preferential transplacental transfer, which is regulated by placental DHA lipid metabolism. Maternal hyperglycemia and obesity associate with higher birthweight and fetal DHA insufficiency but the role of placental DHA metabolism is unclear. Methods Explants from 17 term placenta were incubated with 13C-labeled DHA for 48 h, at 5 or 10 mmol/L glucose treatment, and the production of 17 individual newly synthesized 13C-DHA labeled lipids quantified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Results Maternal BMI positively associated with 13C-DHA-labeled diacylglycerols, triacylglycerols, lysophospholipids, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine plasmalogens, while maternal fasting glycemia positively associated with five 13C-DHA triacylglycerols. In turn, 13C-DHA-labeled phospholipids and triacylglycerols positively associated with birthweight centile. In-vitro glucose treatment increased most 13C-DHA-lipids, but decreased 13C-DHA phosphatidylethanolamine plasmalogens. However, with increasing maternal BMI, the magnitude of the glucose treatment induced increase in 13C-DHA phosphatidylcholine and 13C-DHA lysophospholipids was curtailed, with further decline in 13C-DHA phosphatidylethanolamine plasmalogens. Conversely, with increasing birthweight centile glucose treatment induced increases in 13C-DHA triacylglycerols were exaggerated, while glucose treatment induced decreases in 13C-DHA phosphatidylethanolamine plasmalogens were diminished. Conclusions Maternal BMI and glycemia increased the production of different placental DHA lipids implying impact on different metabolic pathways. Glucose-induced elevation in placental DHA metabolism is moderated with higher maternal BMI. In turn, findings of associations between many DHA lipids with birthweight suggest that BMI and glycemia promote fetal growth partly through changes in placental DHA metabolism.

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

This research / project is supported by the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) - Clinician Scientist Award
Grant Reference no. : NMRC/CSA-INV/0010/2016

This research / project is supported by the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) - Clinician Scientist Award
Grant Reference no. : MOH-CSAINV19nov-0002

This research / project is supported by the National Research Foundation - Investigatorship Grant
Grant Reference no. : NRFI2015-05

This research / project is supported by the A*STAR - Industry Alignment Fund - Industry Collaboration Projects (IAF-ICP)
Grant Reference no. : I1901E0040

This research is supported by additional funding from the National University of Singapore, National University Health System Singapore and the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR. The Singapore Lipidomics Incubator receives additional funding from the Life Sciences Institute and the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

https://oar.a-star.edu.sg/communities-collections/articles/18129

1076-1551
1528-3658

Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences