Increased Alkaline Phosphatase in Cord Blood of Obese Diabetic Mothers Is Associated to Polyunstaurated Fatty Acid Levels

• Published in: Annals of nutrition and metabolism 2019-12, Vol.75 (3), p.153-162
• Main Authors: Prieto-Sánchez, María T., Blanco-Carnero, José E., Ruiz-Palacios, María, Pagán, Ana, Ruiz-Alcaraz, Antonio J., Larqué, Elvira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Alkaline phosphatase; Alkaline Phosphatase - blood; Birth weight; Blood; Case-Control Studies; Cord blood; Diabetes; Diabetes in pregnancy; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes, Gestational - enzymology; Diagnosis; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated - analysis; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated - blood; Female; Fetal Blood - chemistry; Fetal Blood - enzymology; Fetuses; Gestational diabetes; Health aspects; Humans; Lipid metabolism; Lipids; Neonates; Obesity; Obesity - complications; Obesity - enzymology; Observational studies; Offspring; Original Paper; Phosphatases; Placenta; Placenta - chemistry; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Trimester, Third; Prospective Studies; Protein transport; Spinal cord injuries; Studies; Unsaturated fatty acids; Western blotting
• ISSN: 0250-6807; 1421-9697
• DOI: 10.1159/000504404

Introduction: Recent studies indicate that alkaline phosphatase (ALP) may affect expression and activity of fatty acid (FA) transport proteins in placenta and other tissues. Objective: To evaluate if disturbed FA profile in offspring of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with different maternal pregestational weight could be related to maternal or neonatal ALP. Methods: Prospective observational study of pregnant women recruited in the third trimester (25 controls, 23 lean-GDM, 20 obese-GDM). Fetal ultrasound was performed. At delivery, FAs were analyzed in placenta, maternal, and venous cord blood. Western blotting analysis of lipid carriers was performed in placenta. Results: Newborns from obese-GDM tended to higher birthweight (p = 0.059) than those from both lean-GDM and controls. ALP in maternal blood tended to be lower in GDM (p = 0.170) while increased significantly in cord blood of obese-GDM with respect to controls (p = 0.039). Saturated FA percentages in cord blood were significantly higher (p < 0.000), while polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) percentages were lower (p = 0.003) in both GDM, which could be due to a lower expression of major family domain 2a receptor (MFSD2a) in the placenta. Plasma ALP in the offspring of obese-GDM was inversely associated to cord essential PUFAs (β = –6.18, p = 0.005) and to placental MFSD2a (β = –38.46, p = 0.014). Conclusions: Cord PUFA and placental MFSD2a are decreased in both lean and obese-GDM pregnancies. Higher ALP in cord blood of obese-GDM could play a role in the FA levels in these pregnancies