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De novo cholesterogenesis in pregnancy
The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine
|February 1, 1983
Summary
Pregnancy significantly increases cholesterol synthesis in the liver, placenta, and fetus in rats and monkeys. Dietary cholesterol suppressed liver synthesis but not placental or fetal accumulation.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Reproductive Biology
- Physiology
Background:
- Hypercholesterolemia is a common condition during pregnancy in both rats and humans.
- Cholesterol levels increase progressively from the second trimester onwards.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify de novo cholesterol synthesis in pregnant animals.
- To investigate the role of the liver, placenta, and fetus in cholesterol production during pregnancy.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 3H2O as a substrate to measure cholesterogenesis in vivo and in vitro.
- Compared cholesterol synthesis rates in pregnant and control rats during the third trimester.
- Examined cholesterol synthesis in pregnant Saguines fusciollis monkeys.
Main Results:
- Hepatic cholesterol synthesis was markedly stimulated in third-trimester pregnant rats.
- The placenta and fetus exhibited substantial rates of cholesterol synthesis.
- Cholesterol feeding suppressed hepatic synthesis in both pregnant and control animals, but did not affect placental or fetal accumulation.
- Pregnancy also stimulated hepatic cholesterol synthesis in Saguines fusciollis monkeys, with the fetus and placenta being key sites of de novo cholesterogenesis.
Conclusions:
- Pregnancy significantly alters cholesterol metabolism, with the liver, placenta, and fetus being major sites of increased synthesis.
- Dietary cholesterol intake influences hepatic synthesis but not placental or fetal cholesterol accumulation during pregnancy.
- These findings highlight the complex physiological adaptations of cholesterol metabolism during gestation.