Placental FTO expression relates to fetal growth

• Published in: International Journal of Obesity Vol. 34; no. 9; pp. 1365 - 1370
• Main Authors: Bassols, J, Prats-Puig, A, Vázquez-Ruíz, M, García-González, M.M, Martínez-Pascual, M, Avellí, P, Martínez-Martínez, R, Fàbrega, R, Colomer-Virosta, C, Soriano-Rodríguez, P, Díaz, M, Zegher, F. de, Ibánez, L, López-Bermejo, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basingstoke Nature Publishing Group 01.09.2010
• Subjects: Adult; Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical research; Birth weight; Body fat; Body Weight - genetics; Body Weight - physiology; Childbirth & labor; Cohort analysis; Diabetes; Endocrinology; Female; Fetal Blood - physiology; fetal development; Fetal Development - genetics; Fetal Development - physiology; fetus; Fetuses; Gene expression; genes; Genetic aspects; Genotype; Gestational age; Hospitals; Humans; Insulin; Insulin-like growth factors; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Obesity; parity (reproduction); Pediatrics; Placenta; Placenta - metabolism; Placenta - physiology; Polymorphism; Pregnancy; Proteins - genetics; Proteins - metabolism; Risk factors; single nucleotide polymorphism; Single nucleotide polymorphisms; Type 2 diabetes; Weight Gain - genetics; Weight Gain - physiology; Womens health; Belgium; Spain; FTO; Obesity; Genetic variability; Nutrition; Fetal membrane; Nutrition disorder; Genotype; Metabolic diseases; Gene expression; Pregnancy; Fetal development; Placenta; Birth weight; Nutritional status; Polymorphism
• ISSN: 0307-0565; 1476-5497
• DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2010.62

Objective: The fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) participates in the control of postnatal weight gain. We assessed whether FTO is expressed in human placenta and whether such expression relates to prenatal weight gain and to the rs9939609 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in FTO. Design and subjects: In a birth cohort study, placentas from women (n=147) with an uncomplicated, singleton, term pregnancy were weighed at delivery. Real-time PCR was used to study, in placental tissue, the expression of FTO and of housekeeping genes (TATA box binding protein and succinate dehydrogenase complex, subunit A) and to genotype the rs9939609 SNP in FTO. Weights and lengths of the newborns were measured; circulating insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) were quantified in cord blood. Results: FTO was highly expressed in placenta and was associated with increased fetal weight and length (P<0.001 to P<0.0001). Maternal parity showed an interaction (P<0.001) in the association between placental FTO expression and placental weight. Placental FTO mRNA expression was associated with increased fetal-to-placental weight ratio (P<0.005) in infants from primiparous women, and was associated with increased fetal weight and length and placental weight (P<0.001 to P<0.0001) in infants from nonprimiparous women. These associations were not explained by either cord insulin or IGF-I. Placental FTO expression was unrelated to placental FTO rs9939609 SNP. Conclusion: FTO is expressed in the human placenta. In a maternal parity-dependent manner, placental FTO may participate either in the control of fetal weight gain or in the partitioning between placental and fetal growth.