Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in the hepatic proteome of newborn piglets after maternal folic acid supplementation (FS).
Methods: Pregnant dams were fed a control diet (folic acid 1.3 mg/kg) or an FS diet (folic acid 30 mg/kg) during gestation. The liver samples of newborn piglets from each group were collected at birth for the analysis of the proteome using two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis.
Results: The results indicated that the expression levels of 11 proteins were changed dramatically in the newborn piglets after maternal FS. FS during gestation increased the content of proteins that regulate the immune response (90-kDa heat shock protein), energy metabolism (aconitase and succinate dehydrogenase), and intermediary metabolism (formiminotransferase cyclodeaminase and abhydrolase). In addition, maternal FS downregulated the expression of proteins associated with cellular signal transduction (heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein and exportin), proteolysis (ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme and porcine ε-trypsin), and cell migration regulation (actin-related protein-3).
Conclusion: These findings suggest that maternal FS alters the expression abundance of several hepatic proteins that are involved in metabolic regulation, oxidative responses, and cancer-related processes.
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