Lipid metabolism genes in first trimester placenta

Placentas of obese women have low mitochondrial beta-oxidation of fatty acids (FA) and accumulate lipids in late pregnancy. This creates a lipotoxic environment, impairing placental efficiency. We assessed expression of key regulators of FA metabolism in first trimester placentas of lean and obese women. Expression of genes associated with FA oxidation (FAO; ACOX1, CPT2, AMPKα), FA uptake (LPL, LIPG, MFSD2A), FA synthesis (ACACA) and storage (PLIN2) were significantly reduced in placentas of obese compared to lean women. This effect was exacerbated in placentas of male fetuses. The PPARα pathway was enriched for placental genes impacted by obesity. These results demonstrate that obesity and hyperlipidemia impact placental FA metabolism as early as 7 weeks of pregnancy. First trimester placenta samples from lean (N=16) and obese (N=16) women were analyzed. Technical replicates were not included. Two samples from Lean and 3 from obese considered outliers, but .RCC files included.