Maternal nutrition modulates fetal development by inducing placental efficiency changes in gilts

Background: Intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) and fetal overgrowth increase risks to postnatal health. Maternal nutrition is the major intrauterine environmental factor that alters fetal weight. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of maternal nutrition on fetal development are not entirely clear. We developed a pig model, and using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ), we investigated alterations in the placental proteome of gilts on a normal-energy-intake (Con) and high-energy-intake (HE) diet. Results: In the Con group, heavy and light fetuses were found at the tubal and cervical ends of the uterus respectively at 90 d of gestation. Moreover, the heavy fetuses had a higher glucose concentration than the light fetuses. However, a higher uniformity was noted in the HE group. Placental promoters between these two positions indicated that 78 and 50 differentially expressed proteins were detected in the Con and HE groups respectively. In the Con group, these proteins were involved in lipid metabolism (HADHA, AACS, CAD), nutrient transport (GLUT, SLC27A1), and energy metabolism (NDUFV1, NDUFV2, ATP5C1). However, in the HE group they mainly participated in transcriptional and translational regulation, and intracellular vesicular transport. Conclusions: Our findings revealed that maternal nutrition may alter birth weight mainly through the modulation of placental lipid and energy metabolism, which also provides a possible mechanism to explain the higher uniformity of fetal weight in gilts fed a HE diet.