AUTHOR=Quiroz Alonso , Belledonne Gabriela , Saavedra Fujiko , González Javier , Busso Dolores 

TITLE=Vitamin E supplementation prevents obesogenic diet-induced developmental abnormalities in SR-B1 deficient embryos

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2024.1460697

DOI=10.3389/fcell.2024.1460697

ISSN=2296-634X

ABSTRACT=Genetic and environmental factors influence the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs), congenital malformations characterized by abnormal brain and spine formation. Mouse embryos deficient in Scavenger Receptor Class B Type 1 (SR-B1), which is involved in the bidirectional transfer of lipids between lipoproteins and cells, exhibit a high prevalence of exencephaly, preventable by maternal vitamin E supplementation. SR-B1 knock-out (KO) embryos are severely deficient in vitamin E and show elevated reactive oxygen species levels during neurulation. We hypothesized that a high-fat/high-sugar (HFHS) diet consumed by heterozygous SR-B1 female mice would impair maternal vitamin E status and increase the incidence of NTDs in SR-B1 KO embryos from heterozygous intercrosses. HFHS-fed SR-B1 HET females exhibited altered glucose metabolism and excess circulating lipids, along with a higher incidence of embryos with developmental delay and NTDs. Vitamin E supplementation partially mitigated HFHSinduced maternal metabolic abnormalities and completely prevented embryonic 2 malformations, likely through indirect mechanisms involving the reduction of oxidative stress and improved lipid handling by the parietal yolk sac.