title: Fatty acid transport regulatory proteins in the developing rat placenta and in trophoblast cell culture models.
abstract: The placenta forms a selective barrier that is able to transport nutrients that are of critical use to the fetus. Delivery of essential fatty acids to the fetus is dependent upon transplacental transport and provides the backbone for the biosynthesis of biological membranes, myelin and various signalling molecules. The primary objective of this research was to elucidate the expression patterns of genes that regulate fatty acid transport across the placenta. Several fatty acid transport regulatory genes have been identified in the rat including; cytoplasmic heart fatty acid binding protein (hFABP), plasma membrane fatty acid binding protein (FABPpm), fatty acid translocase (FAT) and fatty acid transport protein (FATP). In this study, we have elucidated temporal and spatial expression patterns for these genes in the rat placenta and in cell culture models of the rat placenta by Northern blot, RT-PCR, Western blot and/or by in situ hybridization analyses. Expression of hFABP was specific to the labyrinth zone, the main barrier and site of transplacental transport in the rat placenta. In addition, the levels of hFABP expression increased with gestational age, suggesting a growing requirement for fatty acid transport with advancing stages of pregnancy. FABPpm, FAT and FATP are expressed in both the junctional and labyrinth zones of the rat placenta. FAT was predominantly localized to the labyrinth zone by in situ hybridization analysis. The placental cell expression patterns of the genes involved in fatty acid transport were supported by our observations of HRP-1 (labyrinth zone) and Rcho-1 (junctional zone) trophoblast cell culture models. Given their cell surface location, we predict that FABPpm, FAT and FATP potentially participate in placental fatty acid uptake. The predominant expression of hFABP and FAT in the labyrinth zone of the chorioallantoic placenta implicates hFABP and FAT in the transplacental movement of fatty acids from maternal to fetal compartments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, The University of Kansas Medical Center, 39 011 Rainbow Boulevard, Kansas City, Kansas, 66160, USA. gknipp@cop.rutgers.edu
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Knipp
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Audus
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Soares
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D018955:CD36 Antigens; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D002460:Cell Line; D050612:Fatty Acid Transport Proteins; D000071438:Fatty Acid-Binding Protein 7; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D018996:Myelin P2 Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D027361:Organic Anion Transporters; D010920:Placenta / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051381:Rats; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018955:CD36 Antigens; D002352:Carrier Proteins; C490174:Fabp7 protein, rat; D050612:Fatty Acid Transport Proteins; D000071438:Fatty Acid-Binding Protein 7; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D018996:Myelin P2 Protein; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D027361:Organic Anion Transporters; D012333:RNA, Messenger