Abstract
BackgroundThe incidence of CHD is the highest among birth defects and is increasing year to year. CHD seriously harms the health of infants and young children and presents a large economic burden to families and society. The pathogenesis of CHD and preventive measures are the focus of current research. Our research aimed to explore the intervention effect of folic acid on heart abnormalities resulting from sodium arsenic (NaAsO2) exposure during the periconception period.MethodsSixty 35-day-old female SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups with 12 rats in each group. Group A was the control group. The rats were given distilled water and ordinary chow. The rats in group B were given distilled water containing 75 mg/L NaAsO2 and ordinary chow. The rats in groups C, D, and E were given distilled water containing 75 mg/L NaAsO2 and chow containing 0.53 mg/kg, 5.3 mg/kg, and 10.6 mg/kg folic acid, respectively. The general condition of the embryos and the histopathology of the embryonic hearts were examined. The acetylation levels of histone H3K9 in heart tissues and the expression levels of Mef2C (which is related to heart development) were observed.ResultsThe embryo weight and placental weight of groups B-E were significantly lower than those of group A (P < 0.05). The heart malformation rate of the fetal rats in groups B-E was significantly higher than that of the fetal rats in group A (P < 0.05). We found that the level of H3K9 acetylation in fetal rat cardiomyocytes in groups B-E was significantly higher than that in group A (P < 0.05) and that the level of H3K9 acetylation in groups C-E was lower than that in group B (P < 0.05). The mRNA level of Mef2C in fetal rat cardiomyocytes in group B-E was significantly higher than that in group A (P < 0.05), and the mRNA level of Mef2C in groups C-E was significantly lower than that in group B (P < 0.05).ConclusionSupplementation with folic acid during the periconception period can interfere with the toxic effects of arsenic on the heart. The mechanism may be that lowering the acetylation levels of histone H3K9 in heart tissues leads to decreased expression levels of Mef2C, which may play a protective role in heart development in fetal rats.
Highlights
The incidence of Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the highest among birth defects and is increasing year to year
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is an abnormality in morphological structure and functional metabolism caused by abnormal development of the heart and large blood vessels during the embryonic period or a congenital deformity in which the orifices that are present during the fetal period and are used for blood circulation remain open after birth
It was observed that Sodium arsenic (NaAsO2) caused abnormal heart development in offspring and that folic acid supplementation had a protective effect on embryonic heart development
Summary
The incidence of CHD is the highest among birth defects and is increasing year to year. The pathogenesis of CHD and preventive measures are the focus of current research. Congenital heart disease (CHD) is an abnormality in morphological structure and functional metabolism caused by abnormal development of the heart and large blood vessels during the embryonic period or a congenital deformity in which the orifices that are present during the fetal period and are used for blood circulation remain open after birth. CHD has the highest incidence of all birth defects, and the incidence is increasing year to year [1]. CHD seriously harms the health of infants and young children and presents a large economic burden to families and society. It is of great significance to explore the pathogenesis of and preventive measures for CHD
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