title: Transport mechanisms for long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the human placenta.
abstract: To understand the placental role in the processes responsible for the preferential accumulation of maternal long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) in the fetus, we investigated fatty acid uptake and metabolism in the human placenta. A preference for LCPUFAs over nonessential fatty acids has been observed in isolated human placental membranes as well as in BeWo cells, a human placental choriocarcinoma cell line. A placental plasma membrane fatty acid binding protein (p-FABP(pm)) with a molecular mass of approximately 40 kDa was identified. The purified p-FABP(pm) preferentially bound with essential fatty acids (EFAs) and LCPUFAs over nonessential fatty acids. Oleic acid was taken up least and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) most by BeWo cells, whereas no such discrimination was observed in HepG2 liver cells. Studies on the distribution of radiolabeled fatty acids in the cellular lipids of BeWo cells showed that DHA is incorporated mainly into the triacylglycerol fraction, followed by the phospholipid fraction; the reverse is true for arachidonic acid (AA). The greater cellular uptake of DHA and its preferential incorporation into the triacylglycerol fraction suggests that both uptake and transport modes of DHA by the placenta to the fetus are different from those of AA. p-FABP(pm) antiserum preferentially decreased the uptake of LCPUFAs and EFAs by BeWo cells compared with preimmune serum. Together, these results show the preferential uptake of LCPUFAs by the placenta that is most probably mediated via the p-FABP(pm).
authors.affiliation: Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom. adr@rri.sari.ac.uk
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Dutta-Roy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D001692:Biological Transport; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D002822:Choriocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000071438:Fatty Acid-Binding Protein 7; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D005228:Fatty Acids, Essential / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019787:Linoleic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D018996:Myelin P2 Protein / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D019301:Oleic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D010920:Placenta / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; C107608:FABP7 protein, human; D000071438:Fatty Acid-Binding Protein 7; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D005228:Fatty Acids, Essential; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D018996:Myelin P2 Protein; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D019301:Oleic Acid; D019787:Linoleic Acid