Ethanol and Fetal Nutrition Effect of Chronic Ethanol exposure on rat Placental Growth and Membrane Associated folic Acid Receptor Binding Activity

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Abstract
Rat placental composition and specific folate receptor activity were measured at 20 days gestation in dams exposed to chronic high doses of ethanol (6%, vol/vol) throughout gestation and in isocalorically pair-fed controls. Ethanol-exposed fetuses were smaller (ethanol = 3.28 .+-. 0.08 vs. control = 4.01 .+-. 0.10 g, P < 0.001), but their placentae were larger (experimental = 0.534 .+-. 0.02 vs. control = 0.399 .+-. 0.01 g, P < 0.001). The increased wt appears to be secondary to hyperplasia as total DNA was increased while the wet/dry, RNA/DNA and protein/DNA ratios were not different. Despite larger placentae, specific folate receptor activity was significantly reduced in the ethanol-exposed tissue, whether expressed relative to membrane protein, placental wt or total placental binding. Ethanol exposure is evidently placentotoxic; an additional mechanism by which ethanol may lead to intrauterine growth retardation; decreased folate receptor activity is evident.