van Houwelingen A C, Puls J, Hornstra G
Department of Human Biology, Limburg University, Maastricht, Netherlands.
Early Hum Dev. 1992 Dec;31(2):97-111. doi: 10.1016/0378-3782(92)90038-i.
Preliminary studies indicated that the EFA status of normal neonates is marginal, if not insufficient. Since a better knowledge of the physiology of maternal-fetal essential fatty acid transfer is relevant for nutritional recommendations during pregnancy, we investigated the course of the fetal EFA status during fetal development by analysing the absolute (micrograms/g dry fetal tissue) and relative (% of total fatty acids) fatty acid composition of phospholipids in human fetal tissue, (n = 40, gestational age 5-15.2 weeks). The total content of fatty acids (mg/g dry fetal tissue) increased with gestational age. The absolute amount of virtually all fatty acids increased with maturation. Linoleic acid (18:2n-6, LA), however, was an exception. A highly significant, negative correlation between gestational age and the relative amount of LA in fetal tissue was observed during this first trimester of pregnancy. Our results show that the fetal-maternal difference in linoleic acid content observed at birth, initiates early in pregnancy. Since the fetus completely depends on the mother for its EFA supply, the maternal EFA status was measured simultaneously by analysing the fatty acid composition of phospholipids, isolated from plasma and red blood cells. Significant positive correlations between maternal rbc and fetal tissue were found for the relative amounts of LA. Similar relationships were observed between maternal plasma and fetal tissue for the relative amounts of cervonic acid (22:6n-3), the most abundant essential fatty acid in brain and retina. The relation between maternal and fetal EFA in phospholipids is significantly more pronounced after 10 weeks of gestation than before. This might be connected with the increased importance of the placenta with respect to maternal-fetal fatty acid transfer after 10 weeks of gestation.
初步研究表明，正常新生儿的必需脂肪酸（EFA）状况即便并非不足，也处于临界状态。鉴于更深入了解母胎必需脂肪酸转运的生理机制对于孕期营养建议至关重要，我们通过分析人类胎儿组织（n = 40，胎龄5 - 15.2周）中磷脂的绝对脂肪酸组成（微克/克胎儿干组织）和相对脂肪酸组成（占总脂肪酸的百分比），研究了胎儿发育过程中胎儿EFA状况的变化。脂肪酸的总含量（毫克/克胎儿干组织）随胎龄增加。几乎所有脂肪酸的绝对量都随成熟度增加。然而，亚油酸（18:2n - 6，LA）是个例外。在妊娠的头三个月，观察到胎龄与胎儿组织中LA相对量之间存在高度显著的负相关。我们的结果表明，出生时观察到的胎儿与母体亚油酸含量差异在妊娠早期就已开始。由于胎儿的EFA供应完全依赖于母亲，我们同时通过分析从血浆和红细胞中分离出的磷脂的脂肪酸组成来测量母体的EFA状况。母体红细胞与胎儿组织中LA的相对量之间存在显著正相关。对于二十二碳六烯酸（22:6n - 3），即大脑和视网膜中最丰富的必需脂肪酸，母体血浆与胎儿组织之间也观察到类似关系。妊娠10周后，母体与胎儿磷脂中EFA的关系比之前明显更显著。这可能与妊娠10周后胎盘在母胎脂肪酸转运方面的重要性增加有关。
