Chapter 2
Maternal-Fetal Transfer of Vitamin
A and Its Impact on Mammalian
Embryonic Development
Loredana Quadro and Elizabeth Kuhn Spiegler
Abstract The placenta, a hallmark of mammalian embryogenesis, allows nutrients
to be exchanged between the mother and the fetus. Vitamin A (VA), an essential nutrient, cannot be synthesized by the embryo, and must be acquired from the maternal
circulation through the placenta. Our understanding of how this transfer is accomplished is still in its infancy. In this chapter, we recapitulate the early studies about the
relationship between maternal dietary/supplemental VA intake and fetal VA levels.
We then describe how the discovery of retinol-binding protein (RBP or RBP4), the
development of labeling and detection techniques, and the advent of knockout mice
shifted this field from a macroscopic to a molecular level. The most recent data indicate that VA and its derivatives (retinoids) and the pro-VA carotenoid, β-carotene,
are transferred across the placenta by distinct proteins, some of which overlap with
proteins involved in lipoprotein uptake. The VA status and dietary intake of the
mother influence the expression of these proteins, creating feedback signals that
control the uptake of retinoids and that may also regulate the uptake of lipids, raising the intriguing possibility of crosstalk between micronutrient and macronutrient
metabolism. Many questions remain about the temporal and spatial patterns by which
these proteins are expressed and transferred throughout gestation. The answers to
these questions are highly relevant to human health, considering that those with either
limited or excessive intake of retinoids/carotenoids during pregnancy may be at risk
of obtaining improper amounts of VA that ultimately impact the development and
health of their offspring.
Keywords Vitamin A · Retinoids · Carotenoids · Beta-carotene · Development ·
Embryogenesis · Placenta · Lipoprotein · Maternal · Mammals · Retinol binding
proteins · Infertility · Fetus · Maternal-fetal transfer
L. Quadro (B) · E. K. Spiegler
Department of Food Science, Rutgers Center for Lipid Research, New Jersey Institute for Food,
Nutrition, and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
e-mail: lquadro@sebs.rutgers.edu
E. K. Spiegler
e-mail: kuhn.lizbeth@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. A. Asson-Batres and C. Rochette-Egly (eds.), The Biochemistry of Retinoid
Signaling III, Subcellular Biochemistry 95,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42282-0_2
27
Maternal-Fetal Transfer of Vitamin
A and Its Impact on Mammalian
Embryonic Development
Loredana Quadro and Elizabeth Kuhn Spiegler
Abstract The placenta, a hallmark of mammalian embryogenesis, allows nutrients
to be exchanged between the mother and the fetus. Vitamin A (VA), an essential nutrient, cannot be synthesized by the embryo, and must be acquired from the maternal
circulation through the placenta. Our understanding of how this transfer is accomplished is still in its infancy. In this chapter, we recapitulate the early studies about the
relationship between maternal dietary/supplemental VA intake and fetal VA levels.
We then describe how the discovery of retinol-binding protein (RBP or RBP4), the
development of labeling and detection techniques, and the advent of knockout mice
shifted this field from a macroscopic to a molecular level. The most recent data indicate that VA and its derivatives (retinoids) and the pro-VA carotenoid, β-carotene,
are transferred across the placenta by distinct proteins, some of which overlap with
proteins involved in lipoprotein uptake. The VA status and dietary intake of the
mother influence the expression of these proteins, creating feedback signals that
control the uptake of retinoids and that may also regulate the uptake of lipids, raising the intriguing possibility of crosstalk between micronutrient and macronutrient
metabolism. Many questions remain about the temporal and spatial patterns by which
these proteins are expressed and transferred throughout gestation. The answers to
these questions are highly relevant to human health, considering that those with either
limited or excessive intake of retinoids/carotenoids during pregnancy may be at risk
of obtaining improper amounts of VA that ultimately impact the development and
health of their offspring.
Keywords Vitamin A · Retinoids · Carotenoids · Beta-carotene · Development ·
Embryogenesis · Placenta · Lipoprotein · Maternal · Mammals · Retinol binding
proteins · Infertility · Fetus · Maternal-fetal transfer
L. Quadro (B) · E. K. Spiegler
Department of Food Science, Rutgers Center for Lipid Research, New Jersey Institute for Food,
Nutrition, and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
e-mail: lquadro@sebs.rutgers.edu
E. K. Spiegler
e-mail: kuhn.lizbeth@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. A. Asson-Batres and C. Rochette-Egly (eds.), The Biochemistry of Retinoid
Signaling III, Subcellular Biochemistry 95,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42282-0_2
27