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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Is Placental Mitochondrial Function a Regulator that Matches Fetal and Placental Growth to Maternal Nutrient Intake in the Mouse?

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Author(s):
Chiaratti, Marcos R. [1, 2] ; Malik, Sajida [2] ; Diot, Alan [2] ; Rapa, Elizabeth [2] ; Macleod, Lorna [2] ; Morten, Karl [2] ; Vatish, Manu [2] ; Boyd, Richard [3] ; Poulton, Joanna [2]
Total Authors: 9
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Genet & Evolucao, BR-13565905 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil
[2] Univ Oxford, Womens Ctr, Nuffield Dept Obstet & Gynaecol, Oxford OX3 9DU - England
[3] Univ Oxford, Dept Physiol Anat & Genet, Oxford OX1 3QX - England
Total Affiliations: 3
Document type: Journal article
Source: PLoS One; v. 10, n. 7 JUL 1 2015.
Web of Science Citations: 16
Abstract

Background Effective fetal growth requires adequate maternal nutrition coupled to active transport of nutrients across the placenta, which, in turn requires ATP. Epidemiological and experimental evidence has shown that impaired maternal nutrition in utero results in an adverse postnatal phenotype for the offspring. Placental mitochondrial function might link maternal food intake to fetal growth since impaired placental ATP production, in response to poor maternal nutrition, could be a pathway linking maternal food intake to reduced fetal growth. Method We assessed the effects of maternal diet on placental water content, ATP levels and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content in mice at embryonic (E) day 18 (E18). Females maintained on either low-(LPD) or normal-(NPD) protein diets were mated with NPD males. Results To investigate the possibility of an underlying mitochondrial stress response, we studied cultured human trophoblast cells (BeWos). High throughput imaging showed that amino acid starvation induces changes in mitochondrial morphology that suggest stress-induced mitochondrial hyperfusion. This is a defensive response, believed to increase mitochondrial efficiency, that could underlie the increase in ATP observed in placenta. Conclusions These findings reinforce the pathophysiological links between maternal diet and conceptus mitochondria, potentially contributing to metabolic programming. The quiet embryo hypothesis proposes that pre-implantation embryo survival is best served by a relatively low level of metabolism. This may extend to post-implantation trophoblast responses to nutrition. (AU)