Abstract
Alcohol exposure during pregnancy disrupts fetal development and programs lifelong disease. We have shown, in rats, that alcohol exposure during the periconceptional period (PC:EtOH), causes placental dysfunction and cardiometabolic disease in offspring. The process of metabolising alcohol can cause oxidative stress and damage mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). It is unknown whether alcohol metabolism in a rat model of PC:EtOH impacts oxidative stress markers and mitochondrial content in maternal and placental tissues. We aimed to determine whether PC:EtOH induced oxidative stress and reduced mtDNA in maternal liver and the placental labyrinth and junctional zone. Sprague-Dawley rats were given an ethanol liquid (12.5% v/v) or control (0%) diet for one oestrous cycle before mating to embryonic day (E) 4. Maternal livers were collected at E5 and E20. Placentas were collected at E20 and separated into the junctional zone and labyrinth zone. PC:EtOH reduced Cyp2e1 mRNA levels and mtDNA in the E5 liver with lower mtDNA persisting to E20, at which time mitochondrial proteins were also decreased. PC:EtOH also reduced mitochondrial content in the E20 junctional zone, although mitochondrial protein levels were unaffected. Superoxide dismutase activity was increased in the placental junctional zone and there was no evidence of oxidative stress. The present study demonstrates that alcohol exposure around conception, reduces mitochondrial content within the maternal liver and the junctional zone of the placenta towards the end of pregnancy. These prolonged deficits may have disrupted metabolic processes required for a healthy pregnancy. The study further supports avoiding alcohol when planning a pregnancy. KEY POINTS: Even when alcohol is consumed only around conception (PC:EtOH), it can have profound impacts on the developing baby. Here, we use our established rat model to investigate if PC:EtOH causes oxidative stress and reduces mitochondrial content in the maternal liver immediately after exposure on embryonic day (E) 5. We also investigate these parameters at the end of pregnancy (E20) in maternal liver and the placenta. PC:EtOH reduced mitochondrial DNA content in the maternal liver by 77% at E5 and by 40% at E20. At E20, expression of proteins that form the electron transport chain were also reduced. The placenta had a more subtle reduction in mitochondrial DNA content, but protein levels of mitochondrial complexes were unchanged. There was no evidence of oxidative stress in the maternal liver or placenta in response to PC:EtOH. The lack of oxidative stress in the placenta may be a result of compensatory increases in antioxidants.