UNC Nutrition Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA.
Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA.
Nutrients. 2022 Apr 15;14(8):1653. doi: 10.3390/nu14081653.
Prenatal alcohol exposure causes neurodevelopmental disability and is associated with a functional iron deficiency in the fetus and neonate, even when the mother consumes an apparently iron-adequate diet. Here, we test whether gestational administration of the clinically relevant iron supplement Fer-In-Sol mitigates alcohol’s adverse impacts upon the fetus. Pregnant Long-Evans rats consumed an iron-adequate diet and received 5 g/kg alcohol by gavage for 7 days in late pregnancy. Concurrently, some mothers received 6 mg/kg oral iron. We measured maternal and fetal weights, hematology, tissue iron content, and oxidative damage on gestational day 20.5. Alcohol caused fetal anemia, decreased fetal body and brain weight, increased hepatic iron content, and modestly elevated hepatic malondialdehyde (p’s < 0.05). Supplemental iron normalized this brain weight reduction in alcohol-exposed males (p = 0.154) but not female littermates (p = 0.031). Iron also reversed the alcohol-induced fetal anemia and normalized both red blood cell numbers and hematocrit (p’s < 0.05). Iron had minimal adverse effects on the mother or fetus. These data show that gestational iron supplementation improves select fetal outcomes in prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) including brain weight and hematology, suggesting that this may be a clinically feasible approach to improve prenatal iron status and fetal outcomes in alcohol-exposed pregnancies.
产前酒精暴露会导致神经发育障碍，并与胎儿和新生儿的功能性缺铁有关，即使母亲摄入了明显充足的铁饮食。在这里，我们测试了临床相关铁补充剂 Fer-In-Sol 是否可以减轻酒精对胎儿的不良影响。怀孕的长耳大仓鼠摄入了充足铁的饮食，并在妊娠后期通过灌胃法接受了 5 g/kg 的酒精 7 天。同时，一些母亲接受了 6 mg/kg 的口服铁。我们测量了母鼠和胎儿的体重、血液学参数、组织铁含量和妊娠第 20.5 天的氧化损伤。酒精导致胎儿贫血、胎儿体重和脑重下降、肝铁含量增加，以及肝丙二醛略有升高（p 值<0.05）。补充铁可以使酒精暴露的雄性幼鼠的脑重降低恢复正常（p = 0.154），但对雌性幼鼠无效（p = 0.031）。铁还可以逆转酒精引起的胎儿贫血，并使红细胞数量和血细胞比容正常化（p 值<0.05）。铁对母亲或胎儿的不良影响很小。这些数据表明，妊娠期铁补充可以改善产前酒精暴露（PAE）中的某些胎儿结局，包括脑重和血液学参数，这表明这可能是改善酒精暴露妊娠中胎儿铁状态和结局的一种可行的临床方法。
