Exploring the effects of dietary supplementation with CoQ10 during obese pregnancy on placental phenotype and placental-derived extracellular vesicles

• Grant number: 25/03599-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Histology
• Principal Investigator: Luis Antonio Justulin Junior
• Grantee: Luisa Annibal Barata
• Supervisor: Susan Ozanne
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Cambridge, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/00809-9 - Investigation of the proteomic profile and placental ultrastructure of rats submitted to maternal low protein diet: A DOHaD approach, BP.MS

Abstract

Maternal obesity during pregnancy increases the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases in the offspring. The placenta, essential for the exchange of nutrients and oxygen between mother and embryo/fetus, is impacted by maternal malnutrition, with changes in placental weight, triglyceride content, and calcification areas, leading to reduced nutrient exchange. Consequently, fetuses of obese mothers have low birth weight, with potential long-lasting consequences for the health of the offspring, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a powerful antioxidant, has been shown to have benefits in models of maternal malnutrition, preventing accelerated cardiac aging, metabolic dysfunctions, and oxidative stress in the offspring. However, its effects during obesogenic pregnancy are still unclear. Furthermore, extracellular vesicles (EVs), especially in placental tissue, play a key role in maternal-fetal communication, transporting bioactive molecules that modulate gene expression. During gestation, EVs secretion increases and is influenced by the intrauterine environment. However, many aspects of EVs biology and function under maternal exposure to experimental dietary conditions remain to be clarified. Thus, this project aims to evaluate the effects of maternal dietary supplementation with CoQ10 on placental phenotype and placental-derived extracellular vesicles in obese mothers. C57BL/6 mice were divided into three groups (experimental n = 15/group): control, obese diet (supplemented with sweetened condensed milk, ~55% simple sugar) and obese diet plus CoQ10 supplementation, from weaning until gestation, when half of the females in the obese group were supplemented with CoQ10 one week before mating. On gestational day 18.5, pregnant females were euthanized, and their placentas and fetuses were collected for future placental histological analyses, explant culture, extracellular vesicle isolation, and gene expression analysis. During this period, we hope to characterize the placental phenotype in response to a dietary insult, as well as investigate the potential beneficial effects of CoQ10 supplementation and its relationship with the secretion and composition of placenta-derived EVs, providing initial insights into maternal-fetal communication.