Effects of maternal zinc deficiency on placental development and function in mice

Zinc is an essential micronutrient in pregnancy and zinc deficiency impairs fetal growth. We used a mouse model of moderate zinc deficiency to determine how zinc is important to placental morphogenesis. Global placental gene expression at gestational day 18.5 was analysed using microarray to determine the effects of zinc deficiency on placental function. RNA samples were extracted placentas collected from 7 female mice fed a zinc deficient diet (10 mg/kg zinc) and 10 female mice fed a zinc replete diet (40 mg/kg zinc). For each female mouse, except for 3 in which only one placenta was available, 2 placentas, one from a male offspring and one from a female offspring were selected. Overall, gene expression in 31 placentas were analysed.