Network correlation analysis revealed potential new mechanisms for neural tube defects beyond folic acid

Folic acid blocks ferroptosis induced by cerebral ischemia and reperfusion through regulating folate hydrolase transcriptional adaptive program

Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is notably linked with folic acid (FA) deficiency. The aim of our investigation was to explore the effects and underlying mechanisms by which FA mitigates I/R, specifically through regulating the GCPII transcriptional adaptive program. Initially, we discovered that following cerebral I/R, levels of FA, methionine synthase (MTR), and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) were decreased, while GCPII expression was elevated. Secondly, administering FA could mitigate cognitive impairment and neuronal damage induced by I/R. Thirdly, the mechanism of FA supplementation involved suppressing the transcriptional factor Sp1, subsequently inhibiting GCPII transcription, reducing Glu content, obstructing cellular ferroptosis, and alleviating cerebral I/R injury. In summary, our data demonstrate that FA affords protection against cerebral I/R injury by inhibiting the GCPII transcriptional adaptive response. These findings unveil that targeting GCPII might be a viable therapeutic strategy for cerebral I/R.

Oxidative-Antioxidative Markers in Pregnant Women with Fetal Neural Tube Defects

We compared markers of oxidative stress (OS) in mothers with and without fetal neural tube defects (NTDs). Methods: Pregnant mothers in the second trimester with NTD-affected fetuses and age, gestational age, and body mass index-matched control mothers with unaffected fetuses were included. Maternal serum thiol-disulfide homeostasis parameters and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) were measured. Results: In 30 affected mothers compared to 31 controls, disulfide levels, disulfide/native thiol, and disulfide/total thiol ratios were higher; native and total thiol levels and native thiol/total thiol ratios were lower (p < 0.001). Mothers with NTD-affected fetuses had higher levels of IMA than controls (p = 0.025). Conclusion: The thiol-disulfide homeostasis balance was shifted in favor of disulfide, suggesting increased thiol oxidation and OS in the second trimester of NTD-affected pregnancies. Maternal levels of IMA, an oxidatively altered form of albumin, thus a measure of OS, were higher in NTD-affected second trimester pregnancies compared to controls.