Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-GASTROINTESTINAL AND LIVER PHYSIOLOGY
Volume 285, Issue 5, Pages G796-G803Publisher
AMER PHYSIOLOGICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1152/ajpgi.00226.2003
Keywords
cholesterol; placenta; yolk sac; fetus; gestation
Categories
Funding
- NICHD NIH HHS [HD-34089] Funding Source: Medline
- NIDDK NIH HHS [DK-59630] Funding Source: Medline
- EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH &HUMAN DEVELOPMENT [R56HD034089, R01HD034089] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES AND DIGESTIVE AND KIDNEY DISEASES [U24DK059630] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Cholesterol is necessary for the proper growth and development of the fetus. Consequently, disruptions in cholesterol biosynthesis lead to abnormal fetal development. It has been shown that in cells exposed to polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), the expressions of genes and activities of enzymes involved in cholesterol synthesis are reduced. Similarly, we found that adult male hamsters fed PUFA-enriched diets had an approximate to60% reduction in in vivo hepatic sterol synthesis rates. If fetal tissues respond to PUFA in the same manner as do adult livers, then maternal dietary PUFA could lead to a reduction in fetal sterol synthesis rates and possibly abnormal development. To investigate the impact of maternal dietary fatty acids on fetal sterol synthesis rates, female hamsters were fed diets enriched in various fatty acids before and throughout gestation. In vivo sterol synthesis rates were measured in fetuses at mid- and late gestation. At both gestational stages, dietary PUFA had no effect on fetal sterol synthesis rates. This lack of effect was not a consequence of a lack of PUFA enrichment in fetal fatty acids or the lack of PUFA receptor expression in the fetus. We hypothesize that the fetus may experience a dysregulation of sterol synthesis as the result of the fetus being in a negative sterol balance; the PUFA-induced suppression of sterol synthesis in the adult male hamster liver was ablated by creating a net negative sterol balance across the adult hepatocyte.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available