Uta Enke

Fatty acid distribution of cord and maternal blood in human pregnancy: special focus on individual trans fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids

BackgroundMaternal nutrition in pregnancy has a crucial impact on the development of the fetus. Dietary trans fatty acids (t FA) are known to have adverse health effects, especially during pregnancy. However, the distribution of t FA produced via partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils (mainly elaidic acid; t 9) differs compared to ruminant-derived t FA (mainly vaccenic acid; t 11). Recent findings indicate that they may have different impact on human health.Therefore, in this study, plasma and erythrocytes of mother-child pairs (n = 55) were sampled to investigate the distribution of t FA, including individual trans C18:1 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) in fetal related to maternal lipids; with additional consideration of maternal dairy fat intake.ResultsPortion of t 9 and t 11, but also of c 9,t 11 CLA was higher in maternal than in fetal blood lipids. The portion of t 9 in maternal and fetal lipids differed only slightly. In contrast, the portion of fetal t 11 was only half of that in maternal blood. This led to a fetal t 9/t 11-index in plasma and erythrocytes being twice as high compared to the maternal values. A high dairy fat intake resulted in elevated portions of t 11 and its Δ9-desaturation product c 9,t 11 CLA in maternal blood. In contrast, in the respective fetal blood lipids only c 9,t 11 CLA, but not t 11 was increased. Nevertheless, a positive association between maternal and fetal plasma exists for both t 11 and c 9,t 11 CLA. Furthermore, in contrast to t 9, t 11 was not negatively associated with n-3 LC-PUFA in fetal blood lipids.ConclusionsFetal blood fatty acid composition essentially depends on and is altered by the maternal fatty acid supply. However, in addition to dietary factors, other aspects also contribute to the individual fatty acid distribution (oxidation, conversion, incorporation). The lower portion of fetal t 11 compared to maternal t 11, possibly results from Δ9-desaturation to c 9,t 11 CLA and/or oxidation. Based on the fatty acid distribution, it can be concluded that t 11 differs from t 9 regarding its metabolism and their impact on fetal LC-PUFA.

Phthalate exposure in pregnant women and newborns - the urinary metabolite excretion pattern differs distinctly.

Some phthalates are endocrine disruptors and reproductive and developmental toxicants. Data on newborn phthalate exposure and elimination characteristics are scarce. We determined 21 urinary phthalate metabolites (indicating exposure to 11 parent phthalates) in two study approaches: in the first approach we collected the urine of 20 healthy newborns at days 2-5 post partum together with 47 urine samples of 7 women during pregnancy. In the second fine tuned approach we collected first urine samples of 9 healthy newborns together with their mothers urine shortly before birth. To ensure full and contamination free collection of the newborns first urines we used special adhesive urine bags for children. All urine samples revealed ubiquitous exposures to phthalates comparable to other populations. Metabolite levels in the newborns first day urine samples were generally lower than in all other samples. However, the newborns urines (both first and day 2-5 urines) showed a metabolite pattern distinctly different from the maternal and general population samples: in the newborns urines the carboxy-metabolites of the long chain phthalates (DEHP, DiNP, DiDP) were the by far dominant metabolites with a relative share in the metabolite spectrum up to 6 times higher than in maternal urine. Oppositely, for the short chain phthalates (DBP, DiBP) oxidized metabolites seemed to be less favored than the simple monoesters in the newborns urines. The skewed metabolite distribution in the newborns urine warrants further investigation in terms of early phthalate metabolism, the quantity of internal phthalate exposure of the fetus/newborn and its possible health effects.

Placental immune response to apple allergen in allergic mothers

The immunological milieu in the placenta may be crucial for priming the developing foetal immune system. Early imbalances may promote the establishment of immune-mediated diseases in later life, including allergies. The initial exposure to allergens seems to occur in utero, but little is known about allergen-induced placental cytokine and chemokine release. The release of several cytokines and chemokines from placenta tissue after exposure to mast cell degranulator compound 48/80 or apple allergen in placentas from allergic and healthy mothers was to be analysed. Four placentas from women with apple allergy and three controls were applied in a placental perfusion model with two separate cotyledons simultaneously perfused with and without apple allergen (Mal d 1). Two control placentas were perfused with compound 48/80. In outflow, histamine was quantified spectrophotofluorometrically, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF and IFN-γ by a cytometric multiplex bead array and IL-13 and CXCL10, CXCL11, CCL17 and CCL22 with an in-house multiplex Luminex assay. Compound 48/80 induced a rapid release of histamine, CXCL10, CXCL11, CCL17 and CCL22, but not of the other factors. Apple allergen induced a time-dependent release of IL-6 and TNF, but not of histamine, in placentas of women with apple allergy compared with the unstimulated cotyledon. CCL17 levels were slightly increased after allergen stimulation in control placentas. Allergens can induce placental cytokines and chemokines distinctly in allergic and healthy mothers. These mediators may affect the prenatal development of the immune system and modify the risk of diseases related to immune disorders in childhood such as allergies.

Development of a human model to study homing behavior of immune cells into decidua and placental villi under ex vivo conditions.

Problem  Homing of lymphocytes and NK cells into the decidua and its regulation has been very controversially discussed. Therefore, we aimed to establish an in vivo simulation method for analysis of homing behavior, which might be also useful for other cells such as stem or tumor cells.

SHORT COMMUNICATION: Development of a Human Model to Study Homing Behavior of Immune Cells into Decidua and Placental Villi Under Ex Vivo Conditions

Problem  Homing of lymphocytes and NK cells into the decidua and its regulation has been very controversially discussed. Therefore, we aimed to establish an in vivo simulation method for analysis of homing behavior, which might be also useful for other cells such as stem or tumor cells.

SHORT COMMUNICATION: Development of a Human Model to Study Homing Behavior of Immune Cells into Decidua and Placental Villi Under Ex Vivo Conditions: PLACENTA PERFUSION FOR LYMPHOCYTE HOMING ANALYSIS

Problem  Homing of lymphocytes and NK cells into the decidua and its regulation has been very controversially discussed. Therefore, we aimed to establish an in vivo simulation method for analysis of homing behavior, which might be also useful for other cells such as stem or tumor cells.

Pränatale Einflüsse auf die Prädisposition für allergische Erkrankungen der Nachkommen

ZusammenfassungIn dieser Übersicht werden Studien und Ergebnisse referiert, die die Interpretation zulassen, dass die Schwangerschaft eine Phase darstellt, in der verschiedenste Einflüsse über die Mutter auf den Fetus dessen Risiko für spätere allergische Erkrankungen mitbestimmen. Allergene wurden im Nabelschnurblut gefunden, haben aber alleine noch keine Bedeutung. Aus Tierversuchen lässt sich deuten, dass eine Allergie der Mutter, insbesondere bei allergischer Symptomatik während der Schwangerschaft, einen wichtigen nichterblichen Risikofaktor für eine kindliche Allergie darstellt. Verschiedene Substanzen, die während der Schwangerschaft aufgenommen werden, scheinen nach aktuellem Wissensstand einen protektiven Einfluss zu haben. Hierzu zählen probiotische Bakterien, ω-3-Fettsäuren und Lipopolysaccharide. Sichere Aussagen werden erst weitere, umfangreichere Studien erlauben.AbstractStudies and results presented in this review allow the interpretation that pregnancy is a phase during which a wide variety of influences determine the risk of the fetus for allergic diseases later in life. Allergens have been isolated from cord blood, but their presence alone has no significant impact. Animal experiments have indicated that an allergy in an expectant mother, especially when there are allergic symptoms during the pregnancy, is an important non-hereditary risk factor for allergy in her offspring. As far as we know at present, several substances that are taken up during pregnancy seem to have protective properties. These include probiotic bacteria, omega 3-fatty acids and polysaccharides. More concrete statements remain impossible pending the publication of more and larger studies.

1141646904 Influence of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on proliferation and cytokine synthesis in maternal, fetal and decidual lymphocytes after stimulation with allergens

Background:  Fetal programming is the notion that adverse environmental conditions in utero can cause short term survival adaptations that may have long‐term consequences, such as chronic disease in subsequent lifetime. Recently, some authors reported that the increase of allergy prevalence in childhood may be linked with fetal immune development. In this regard, literature survey inspired to study the influence of two conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)‐isomers (c9,t11 and t10,c12) on parameters of the immune system in pregnancy.