FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME - INHIBITION OF PLACENTAL ZINC TRANSPORT AS A POTENTIAL MECHANISM FOR FETAL GROWTH-RETARDATION IN THE RAT

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  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 100  (1) , 45-52
Abstract
Growth retardation is one of the principal features of fetal alcohol syndrome. The cause of this growth retardation is unknown. Because of the clinical similarities between fetal alcohol syndrome and prenatal Zn deficiency, the effect of short-term and long-term ethanol ingestion during pregnancy on placental transport of Zn was studied in vivo in pair-fed rats. Both short- and long-term ethanol depressed 65Zn uptake in the placenta and fetus by 40% and 30%, respectively, compared to pair-fed controls (P < 0.05). Total Zn concentration in fetuses of the long-term ethanol group was significantly decreased compared to pair-fed controls (P < 0.05). Although the mechanism of action of ethanol in producing the fetal alcohol syndrome may be multiple, a decrease in the availability of Zn to the fetus may represent one of the contributory factors in the growth retardation of fetal alcohol syndrome.