Increased maternal-fetal transport of fat in diabetes assessed by polyunsaturated fatty acid content in fetal lipids.
The distribution of fatty acids was determined by gas-liquid chromatography in total lipid and triglyceride fraction of extracts of several tissues of streptozotocin-diabetic rats and their fetuses on day 20 of pregnancy. In maternal rats, diabetes did not significantly affect fatty acid distribution apart from small changes in the relative content of linoleate in adipose tissue and liver. In the placenta, the fetal carcass and the fetal liver the triglyceride content increased approximately 2-fold as a result of maternal diabetes, in association with the elevation in triglycerides and free fatty acids in the maternal circulation. A pronounced increase in the relative content of linoleate was recorded in the total lipid and triglyceride extracts of placenta (35 and 59%), fetal carcass (56 and 66%) and fetal liver (100 and 205%). Small increases in arachidonate proportion were also seen in some fetal tissues. The large increase in fetal hepatic linoleate indicates that this tissue is an important uptake target of maternal lipids transported in excess into the fetus. The results confirm the previous observations on increased transplacental fat passage in diabetes by demonstrating that the increment in the essential fatty acid, linoleate, parallels the diabetes-induced triglyceride accumulation in the fetoplacental unit.
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000378:metabolism; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism*; D019787:Linoleic Acid; D008041:Linoleic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis*; D008099:Liver / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D011254:Pregnancy in Diabetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism
D001786:Blood Glucose; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D008041:Linoleic Acids; D008055:Lipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D019787:Linoleic Acid