Maternal-fetal fat transport versus new fat synthesis in the pregnant diabetic rat.

Rats were made diabetic by the injection of streptozotocin on day 12 of pregnancy and were investigated on days 17 and 20 of pregnancy. A significant correlation between both maternal plasma triglyceride and nonesterified fatty acid levels with placental or fetal triglyceride content was found, although fetal weight did not change significantly. In order to investigate the source of the placental and fetal fat the rats received, intragastrically 24 h earlier, 1-14C-triolein (as a preformed fatty acid tracer) and tritiated water (as a marker of de novo fatty acid synthesis). Several maternal tissues, placenta, and fetuses were extracted and analysed for fatty acid radioactivity. Compared with non-diabetic pregnant rats, maternal 14C-label storage was reduced. In contrast, the placental and fetal tissues demonstrated a significant rise in 14C-label, similar in magnitude to the rise in their triglyceride content. The pattern of 3H incorporation also indicated a pronounced decrease in maternal fatty acid synthesis, but no increase in de novo fatty acid synthesis in the fetus or placenta. The findings show that fetal lipids in the pregnant rat originate both from maternal fatty acids and those synthesized in situ. The diabetes-induced increment in fetal triglyceride content is derived, however, from preformed maternal triglycerides or non-esterified fatty acids secondary to the increase in their concentration in the maternal circulation.