title: Placenta nutrient transport-related gene expression: the impact of maternal obesity and excessive gestational weight gain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Maternal obesity and excess gestational weight gain (GWG) increase the risk of delivering large infants. This study examined the associations between maternal obesity and GWG on the expression of genes involved in fatty acid, amino acid and glucose transport, and the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) and insulin signaling axes in the placenta.
  
  
  METHODS
  Placenta samples were obtained from lean (n = 11) and obese (n = 10) women. Gene expression in the placenta was measured using polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no differences in placenta gene expression between the lean and obese women, with the exception of lower expression of mTOR in the women with obesity who delivered male offspring (obese n = 6; lean n = 7). GWG in excess of the upper limit of the body mass index (BMI) specific guidelines was correlated with increased expression of SNAT1 and decreased expression of FABP3, mTOR, IRS1 and IGF1R.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Variations in GWG may alter the expression of genes involved in regulating placental nutrient transport. Future research on placental nutrient transport should account for the sex of the offspring and the percentage of GWG that is gained above the upper limit for the pre-pregnancy BMI.
authors.affiliation: a Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute , Ottawa , ON , Canada .|b Faculty of Health Sciences , School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa , Ottawa , ON , Canada .
authors.forename: Kendra Elizabeth
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Brett
authors.affiliation: a Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute , Ottawa , ON , Canada .|c Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , The Ottawa Hospital , Ottawa , ON , Canada .
authors.forename: Zachary Michael
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Ferraro
authors.affiliation: d Molecular Biomedicine Program, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute , Ottawa , ON , Canada , and.|e Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine , University of Ottawa , Ottawa , ON , Canada.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Holcik
authors.affiliation: a Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute , Ottawa , ON , Canada .|b Faculty of Health Sciences , School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa , Ottawa , ON , Canada .|e Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine , University of Ottawa , Ottawa , ON , Canada.
authors.forename: Kristi Bree
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Adamo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism*; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D007328:Insulin; C546842:MTOR protein, human; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
keywords: Amino acid; fatty acid; glucose; mTOR; macrosomia