Eurocat Registration Northern Netherlands and Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2012 Sep;207(3):202.e19-25. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2012.06.003. Epub 2012 Jun 11.
Cholesterol is crucial for fetal development. To gain more insight into the origin of the fetal cholesterol pool in early human pregnancy, we determined cholesterol and its precursors in the amniotic fluid of uncomplicated, singleton human pregnancies.
Total sterols were characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the second-trimester amniotic fluid of 126 healthy fetuses from week 15 until week 22.
The markers of cholesterol biosynthesis, lanosterol, dihydrolanosterol, and lathosterol, were present in low levels until the 19th week of gestation, after which their levels increased strongly. β-sitosterol, a marker for maternal-fetal cholesterol transport, was detectable in the amniotic fluid. The total cholesterol levels increased slightly between weeks 15 and 22.
Our results support the hypothesis that during early life the fetus depends on maternal cholesterol supply because endogenous synthesis is relatively low. Therefore, maternal cholesterol can play a crucial role in fetal development.
胆固醇对胎儿发育至关重要。为了更深入地了解人类妊娠早期胎儿胆固醇库的来源，我们测定了正常单胎妊娠孕妇羊水中的胆固醇及其前体物质。
采用气相色谱-质谱法分析了 126 例孕 15 周至 22 周的健康胎儿羊水中的总甾醇。
胆固醇生物合成标志物羊毛甾醇、二氢羊毛甾醇和麦角甾醇在妊娠 19 周前含量较低，之后其水平迅速升高。β-谷甾醇是母胎胆固醇转运的标志物，可在羊水中检测到。15 周至 22 周之间，总胆固醇水平略有升高。
我们的研究结果支持这样一种假设，即在生命早期，胎儿依赖于母体胆固醇供应，因为内源性合成相对较低。因此，母体胆固醇在胎儿发育中可能起着至关重要的作用。
