Calcifediol During Pregnancy Improves Maternal and Fetal Availability of Vitamin D Compared to Vitamin D3 in Rats and Modifies Fetal Metabolism

Abstract

The fetus depends on the transplacental transfer of vitamin D. Calcifediol (25-OH-D3) is the vitamin D metabolite that crosses the placenta. Previously, oral 25-OH-D3 improved serum 25-OH-D3 compared to vitamin D3 in non-pregnant subjects, although no studies are available in pregnant women. We evaluated the availability of oral 25-OH-D3 compared to vitamin D3 during pregnancy, as well as, their levels in the fetus and effect on metabolism-related proteins. Twenty female rats per group were fed with 25 μg/kg of diet of vitamin D3 (1,000 UI vitamin D/kg diet) or with 25 μg/kg diet of 25-OH-D3. We analyzed 25-OH-D3 levels in maternal and fetal plasma; protein levels of vitamin D receptor (VDR), fatty acid translocase (FAT), and scavenger-receptor class B type-1 (SR-B1) in both maternal liver and placenta; and protein levels of VDR and Glutamate decarboxylase (GAD67) in fetal brain. 25-OH-D3 doubled the concentration of 25-OH-D3 in both maternal and fetal plasma compared to vitamin D3. In addition, maternal liver VDR, FAT, and SR-BI increased significantly in the 25-OH-D3 group, but no changes were found in the placenta. Interestingly, 25-OH-D3 decreased GAD67 expression in the fetal brain and it also tended to decrease VDR (P = 0.086). In conclusion, 25-OH-D3 provided better vitamin D availability for both mother and fetus when administered during pregnancy compared to vitamin D3. No adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes were observed. The effects of 25-OH-D3 on the expression of VDR and GAD67 in fetal brain require further investigation.

Supplementation of Methyl-Donor Nutrients to a High-Fat, High-Sucrose Diet during Pregnancy and Lactation Normalizes Circulating 25-Dihydroxycholecalciferol Levels and Alleviates Inflammation in Offspring

“…We speculated that perturbation of VD status induced by maternal HFS diet may become prominent as the metabolism stabilized at adulthood, which may be mitigated by MS supplementation as evidenced in our study. Studies have shown that maternal VD status altered VDR gene expression and serum 25D levels among fetal and adult offspring [39,40]. However, we did not observe changes with maternal VD status in our study, suggesting that other factors, such as the maternal inflammatory status, could have contributed to the epigenetic modulation of VD-related signaling.…”

Natural Vitamin E Supplementation during Pregnancy in Rats Increases RRR-α-Tocopherol Stereoisomer Proportion and Enhances Fetal Antioxidant Capacity, Compared to Synthetic Vitamin E Administration

“…1). These results belong to a big project that included more experimental groups [19], but we have no reason to suspect that there may be interaction problems at that stage, especially when the amount of vitamins was adequate later. After this nutritional deprivation period, the female rats were randomized into two groups and were fed with a particular test diet for 4 weeks: (1) the control group received commercial AIN-93G diet with 75 IU/kg of diet of S-αT (synthetic vitamin E group, SVE, n = 17) and (2) the experimental group received the AIN-93G diet but with 75 IU/kg of RRR-αT stereoisomer (natural vitamin E group, NVE, n = 20) (d-alpha tocopheryl acetate, Novatol ® , ADM, IL, USA) (ratio RRR-α-tocopherol to all-rac-αtocopherol 1.36:1) (Table 1).…”