Visit our Expo - Redox and Inflammation signaling 2012

Session XVII : Cell signaling in health and disease Poster XVII, 17
Combined supplementation of folic acid and vitamin E diminishes diabetes-induced
dysmorphogenesis in rat embryos
Mattias Gäreskog, Ulf J Eriksson and Parri Wentzel
Department of Medical Cell Biology, Uppsala University, Sweden
Husargatan 3, Box 571, 751 23 Uppsala
Mattias.Gareskog@medcellbiol.uu.se
Diabetic embryopathy and growth disturbances are 3-5 fold more common in infants of
diabetic mothers than in offspring of non-diabetic pregnancy. The mechanisms causing these
disturbances are likely to be multifactorial.
It has been suggested that oxidative stress and apoptosis plays an important roles during
organogenesis. This notion may also be involved in the induction of embryonic
dysmorphogenesis in diabetic pregnancy. We aimed to investigate the effect of administration
of folic acid alone or combined with vitamin E on embryonic malformations and different
markers of apoptosis, such as NFkB activity, Bcl-2, Bax protein levels and p-53 protein and
mRNA expression.
Diabetes was induced by a single injection of streptozotocin. Pregnant, non-diabetic and
diabetic, rats were treated with daily injections of folic acid or treated with both folic acid and
5% vitamin E in the diet. Untreated rats from both groups served as controls. Embryos were
collected on gestational day 10 or 11 and were evaluated with regard to malformations and
growth retardation. Some embryos were used for NFkB assay, western blot and cDNA
synthesis.
We found increased malformations and growth retardation in a diabetic milieu compared to
normal environment. Supplementation of folic acid alone and combined with vitamin E
normalized these parameters
In addition, we found decreased NFkB activity and Bcl-2 protein, increased expression of Bax
and p53 protein and mRNA in embryos of diabetic rats compared to normal rats.
Administration of folic acid to the diabetic rats increased NFkB activity and Bcl-2 protein.
Combined administration of folic acid and vitamin E normalized Bcl-2 expression in the
diabetic environment.
Combined folic acid and vitamin E supplementation to pregnant diabetic rats diminished
diabetes-induced dysmorphogenesis and had several beneficial effects on embryonic
apoptotic rate.
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