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Physical Activity During Pregnancy Is Associated with Increased Placental FATP4 Protein Expression

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Abstract

Placental function is of utmost importance to ensure proper fetal development in utero. Among the placenta’s many roles includes the passage of sufficient macronutrients, such as glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids, to the fetus. Macronutrients are carried from maternal circulation to the fetus across transporters within the placenta. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of (i) an acute bout of exercise and (ii) chronic exercise participation on placenta nutrient transporter expression and localization. To investigate the effect of acute exercise, pre- and post-exercise serum was collected from pregnant (n = 5) and non-pregnant (n = 5) women who underwent a moderate-intensity exercise session and used to treat BeWo cells. To assess chronic physical activity, we analyzed term placenta from women categorized as active (n = 10) versus non-active (n = 10). Protein expression and localization for the transporters GLUT1, SNAT1, and FATP4 were examined for both groups. GLUT1 expression in BeWo cells treated with serum from pregnant women was higher compared with that from non-pregnant, independent of exercise. FATP4 protein expression was elevated in the term placenta of active women. Immunohistochemistry analysis of term placenta illustrated increased staining of FATP4 in placental tissue from active women and differential staining pattern of GLUT1 depending on physical activity status. Chronic exercise during pregnancy increases the expression of placental FATP4 in vivo, suggesting greater metabolism and usage of fatty acids. Additionally, serum from pregnant women could contain factors that increase GLUT1 protein expression in vitro. BeWo cells treated with pre- and post-exercise serum from pregnant women resulted in greater GLUT1 expression compared with those treated with pre- and post-exercise serum from non-pregnant women. Physical activity appears to differentially impact key placental transporters involved in the transfer and availability of nutrients from mother to fetus. Future research ought to examine the mechanisms involved in regulating these changes and their impact on fetal growth and health.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to sincerely thank all the participants for the PLACENTA and Acute Exercise studies in addition to the health care professionals from all institutions involved. The authors acknowledge the Cell Biology and Image Acquisition (CBIA) Core funded by the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

Authors’ Contribution Statements

KH drafted the manuscript. KH, KA, and NHV contributed to study conception, design, data analysis/interpretation, and manuscript revision. KH and SM primarily performed data collection and analysis along with designing the Acute Exercise study. CA, MLL, and JB secondarily performed data collection. All authors revised and edited the manuscript. All authors have approved the final version of the manuscript.

Funding

KH is the recipient of the Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s, from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). SM is supported by the Faculty of Health Sciences uOttawa/CHEO Doctoral Fellowship for the Advancement of Biological Perspectives for Exercise Interventions Across the Lifespan and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. This study was supported by KA’s Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP 142298) and NSERC (RGPIN- 2017-05457) grants.

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  1. Kristi B. Adamo

    Present address: Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, 200 Lees Avenue, Building E, Room E250F, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, 200 Lees Avenue, Building E, Room E250F, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada

    Kelly Ann Hutchinson, Nhung H. Vuong, Shuhiba Mohammad, Catherine Everest, Macyn L. Leung & Jayonta Bhattacharjee

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This study was performed in line with all aspects of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Research Ethics Board (REB) of the University of Ottawa (File numbers: H11-15-29 and H-06-18-634). All participants gave informed written consent after explanation and review of all study procedures.

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Hutchinson, K.A., Vuong, N.H., Mohammad, S. et al. Physical Activity During Pregnancy Is Associated with Increased Placental FATP4 Protein Expression. Reprod. Sci. 27, 1909–1919 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-020-00210-w

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