Maternal iron supplementation during pregnancy affects placental function and iron status in offspring

Iron deficiency and iron overload in men and woman of reproductive age, and pregnant women

Iron is an essential micronutrient for human biology and health, but high iron levels can be dangerous. Both iron deficiency and iron overload have been linked to reproductive health. This review summarizes the effects of iron deficiency and iron overload on men of reproductive age, women of reproductive age, and pregnant women. In addition, appropriate iron levels and the need for iron and nutritional supplements at different stages of life and pregnancy are discussed. In general, men should be aware of the risk of iron overload at any stage of life; women should take appropriate iron supplements before menopause; postmenopausal women should pay attention to the risk of iron overload; and pregnant women should receive reasonable iron supplementation in middle and late pregnancy. By summarizing evidence on the relationship between iron and reproductive health, this review aims to promote the development of strategies to optimize reproductive capacity from the perspective of nutrition. However, additional detailed experimental investigations and clinical studies are needed to assess the underlying causes and mechanisms of the observed associations between iron and reproductive health.

Ferroptosis-Related Proteins Are Potential Diagnostic Molecular Markers for Patients with Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia (PE) is the leading cause of maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity. Early and accurate diagnosis is critical to reduce mortality. Placental oxidative stress has been identified as a major pathway to the development of PE. Ferroptosis, a new form of regulated cell death, is associated with iron metabolism and oxidative stress, and has been suspected to play a role in the pathophysiology of PE, although the mechanism is yet to be elucidated. The identification of potential ferroptosis-related biomarkers is of great significance for the early diagnosis and treatment of PE. A gene expression dataset of peripheral blood samples was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were filtrated with the R package “limma”. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of the DEGs were then conducted. Ferroptosis-related DEGs were screened by overlapping the ferroptosis-related genes with DEGs. The protein−protein interaction (PPI) network was used to identify the key ferroptosis-related DEGs. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to validate changes in the selected key ferroptosis-related DEGs. The correlations between the key genes and clinical and pathological characteristics were analyzed. Finally, the diagnostic value of these key genes for PE was confirmed by a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. A total of 5913 DEGs were identified and 45 ferroptosis-related DEGs were obtained. Besides, ferroptosis-related pathways were enriched by KEGG using DEGs. The PPI network showed that p53 and c-Jun were the critical hub genes. ELISA showed that p53 in the serum of PE patients was higher than that of the control group, while c-Jun was lower than that of the control group. Analysis of the clinicopathological features showed that p53 and c-Jun were correlated with the PE characteristics. Finally, based on the area under curve (AUC) values, c-Jun had the superior diagnostic power (AUC = 0.87, p < 0.001), followed by p53 (AUC = 0.75, p < 0.001). Our study identified that two key genes, p53 and c-Jun, might be potential diagnostic biomarkers of PE.

High Iron Exposure from the Fetal Stage to Adulthood in Mice Alters Lipid Metabolism

Iron supplementation is recommended during pregnancy and fetal growth. However, excess iron exposure may increase the risk of abnormal fetal development. We investigated the potential side effects of high iron levels in fetuses and through their adult life. C57BL/6J pregnant mice from 2 weeks of gestation and their offspring until 30 weeks were fed a control (CTRL, FeSO₄ 0 g/1 kg) or high iron (HFe, FeSO₄ 9.9 g/1 kg) diets. HFe group showed higher iron accumulation in the liver with increased hepcidin, reduced TfR1/2 mRNAs, and lowered ferritin heavy chain (FTH) proteins in both liver and adipose tissues despite iron loading. HFe decreased body weight, fat weight, adipocyte size, and triglyceride levels in the blood and fat, along with downregulation of lipogenesis genes, including PPARγ, C/EBPα, SREBP1c, FASN, and SCD1, and fatty acid uptake and oxidation genes, such as CD36 and PPARα. UCP2, adiponectin, and mRNA levels of antioxidant genes such as GPX4, HO-1, and NQO1 were increased in the HFe group, while total glutathione was reduced. We conclude that prolonged exposure to high iron from the fetal stage to adulthood may decrease fat accumulation by altering ferritin expression, adipocyte differentiation, and triglyceride metabolism, resulting in an alteration in normal growth.