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

Autor(es)

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]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[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

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: PLoS One; v. 10, n. 7 JUL 1 2015.
• Citações Web of Science: 16

Resumo

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)

• Processo FAPESP: 06/03516-4 - Efeito da quantidade de mitocôndrias e de DNA mitocondrial sobre o desenvolvimento embrionário bovino: dois modelos originais
• Beneficiário: Marcos Roberto Chiaratti
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado Direto