Direct and indirect vitamin A supplementation strategies result in different plasma and tissue retinol kinetics in neonatal rats

• Published in: Journal of lipid research Vol. 57; no. 8; pp. 1423 - 1434
• Main Authors: Tan, Libo, Babbs, Amanda E., Green, Michael H., Ross, A. Catharine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.08.2016; The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Elsevier
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Animals; Animals, Newborn; compartmental model; Dietary Supplements; Female; Liver - metabolism; Lung - metabolism; Male; maternal dietary vitamin A; Milk - metabolism; neonate; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Tissue Distribution; Vitamin A - administration & dosage; Vitamin A - pharmacokinetics; Vitamins - administration & dosage; Vitamins - pharmacokinetics; WinSAAM; WinSAAM; neonate; maternal dietary vitamin A; compartmental model
• ISSN: 0022-2275; 1539-7262
• DOI: 10.1194/jlr.M067165

Many questions remain regarding vitamin A (VA) supplementation of infants. Herein we compared direct oral VA supplementation of the neonate and indirect treatment through maternal dietary VA (M-VA) treatment on VA status and kinetics in neonatal rats. Treatments included direct VA combined with retinoic acid (RA) [D-VARA; VA (6 mg/kg) + 10% RA, given orally to neonates on postnatal day (P)2 and P3] and indirect VA supplementation through increased M-VA, compared with each other and oil-treated neonates. [3H]retinol was administered orally to all neonates on P4. Plasma and tissue [3H]retinol kinetics were determined from 1 h to 14 days post-dosing. D-VARA versus placebo dramatically increased liver and lung retinol, but only in the first 8–10 days. In M-VA neonates, liver and lung VA increased progressively throughout the study. Compartmental modeling of plasma [3H]retinol showed that both D-VARA and indirect M-VA reduced retinol recycling between plasma and tissues. Compartmental models of individual tissues predicted that D-VARA stimulated the uptake of VA in chylomicrons to extrahepatic tissues, especially intestine, while the uptake was not observed in M-VA neonates. In conclusion, indirect maternal supplementation had a greater sustained effect than D-VARA on neonatal VA status, while also differentially affecting plasma and tissue retinol kinetics.