Division of Nutrition, St. John's Research Institute, St. John's Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India.
Department of Pathology, St John's Medical College Hospital, Bangalore, India.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2020 Jan;74(1):176-182. doi: 10.1038/s41430-019-0449-2. Epub 2019 Jun 17.
Adequate vitamin B is a requisite during pregnancy and its deficiency is linked with increased risk for adverse outcomes, likely mediated by impaired placental angiogenesis. Thus, we aimed to test associations of maternal vitamin B status with the placental expression of angiogenesis-associated genes ENG, VEGF, and FLT.
SUBJECTS/METHODS: In this retrospective case-control study, placental and maternal trimester 1 blood samples (n = 104) were collected from small for gestational age (SGA) and appropriate for gestational age (AGA) full-term singleton pregnancies. Maternal trimester 1 vitamin B status was measured. Placentae and neonates were weighed at birth. Realtime quantitative PCR was performed to assess placental transcript abundance of ENG, VEGF, and FLT normalized to a panel of reference genes. Associations of placental transcript abundance of the genes with maternal trimester 1 vitamin B status were evaluated.
Placental ENG transcript abundance associated negatively with maternal trimester 1 vitamin B status (β = -0.461, P = 0.017, n = 104). This association was specific to the female births (β = -0.590, P = 0.014, n = 60). Placental VEGF transcript levels were negatively associated with maternal trimester 1 vitamin B status only in the female births (β = -1.995, P = 0.029). Placental FLT transcript levels were not associated with maternal trimester 1 vitamin B status.
Maternal trimester 1 vitamin B status was associated negatively with placental ENG and VEGF expression predominantly in the female births. Therefore, we hypothesize that the placenta adapts to low maternal vitamin B status by up-regulating angiogenic pathways in a gender-specific manner.
妊娠期间需要充足的维生素 B，其缺乏与不良结局风险增加有关，这可能是由于胎盘血管生成受损所致。因此，我们旨在检测母体维生素 B 状态与胎盘血管生成相关基因 ENG、VEGF 和 FLT 的胎盘表达之间的关联。
在这项回顾性病例对照研究中，从小胎儿生长受限（SGA）和适合胎龄（AGA）的足月单胎妊娠中收集胎盘和孕妇第 1 孕期血样（n=104）。测量孕妇第 1 孕期的维生素 B 状态。分娩时称胎盘和新生儿的重量。通过实时定量 PCR 评估 ENG、VEGF 和 FLT 的胎盘转录丰度，并与一组参考基因进行标准化。评估基因的胎盘转录丰度与母体第 1 孕期维生素 B 状态之间的关联。
胎盘 ENG 转录丰度与母体第 1 孕期维生素 B 状态呈负相关（β=-0.461，P=0.017，n=104）。这种关联仅存在于女性分娩中（β=-0.590，P=0.014，n=60）。只有女性分娩时，胎盘 VEGF 转录水平与母体第 1 孕期维生素 B 状态呈负相关（β=-1.995，P=0.029）。胎盘 FLT 转录水平与母体第 1 孕期维生素 B 状态无关。
母体第 1 孕期维生素 B 状态与胎盘 ENG 和 VEGF 表达呈负相关，主要发生在女性分娩中。因此，我们假设胎盘通过以性别特异性的方式上调血管生成途径来适应母体低维生素 B 状态。
