Maternal micronutrients, omega-3 fatty acids, and placental PPARγ expression

An altered one-carbon cycle is known to influence placental and fetal development. We hypothesize that deficiency of maternal micronutrients such as folic acid and vitamin B-12 will lead to increased oxidative stress, reduced long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, and altered expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR gamma) in the placenta, and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation to these diets will increase the expression of PPAR gamma. Female rats were divided into 5 groups: control, folic acid deficient, vitamin B-12 deficient, folic acid deficient + omega-3 fatty acid supplemented, and vitamin B-12 deficient + omega-3 fatty acid supplemented. Dams were dissected on gestational day 20. Maternal micronutrient deficiency leads to lower (p < 0.05) levels of placental docosahexaenoic acid, arachidonic acid, PPAR gamma expression and higher (p < 0.05) levels of plasma malonidialdehyde, placental IL-6, and TNF-alpha. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation to a vitamin B-12 deficient diet normalized the expression of PPAR gamma and lowered the levels of placental TNF-alpha. In the case of supplementation to a folic acid deficient diet it lowered the levels of malonidialdehyde and placental IL-6 and TNF-alpha. This study has implications for fetal growth as oxidative stress, inflammation, and PPAR gamma are known to play a key role in the placental development.