科研之友
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摘要
Regarded as one of the most versatile amino acids, arginine serves as a precursor for many molecules and has been reported to improve the reproductive performance of rats and pigs. To this end, we sought to determine if dietary L-arginine alters fetoplacental vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (Vegfr2) transcription activity. Eighteen wild-type FVB/N female mice were bred to homozygous FVB/N-Tg(Vegfr2-luc)-Xen male mice. Bred female mice received 1 of 2 experimental diets: one supplemented with 2.00% (wt:wt) L-arginine (+Arg) or 1 supplemented with 4.10% (wt:wt) alanine (+Ala) to serve as an isonitrogenous control for +Arg. In addition, 6 mice were fed a nonsupplemented control (Con) diet to normalize bioluminescent imaging data. All data were analyzed using ANOVA followed by Fisher%26apos;s least significant difference. Total feed intake did not differ between groups; however, mice in the +Arg group consumed more arginine (P %26lt; 0.05). Arginine supplementation increased weight gain during the latter one-third of gestation (d 12-18), total litter size, number of pups born alive, number of placental attachment sites, litter birth weight, and litter weight of pups born alive but decreased the individual birth weights (P %26lt; 0.05). During d 12-18, arginine supplementation increased (P %26lt; 0.05) the mean total Vegfr2 transcription activity and Vegfr2 transcription activity corrected for fetoplacental mass. Moreover, mice in the +Arg group had an earlier rise in Vegfr2 transcription activity. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the beneficial effect of dietary L-arginine supplementation on mammalian reproduction is associated with enhanced Vegfr2 transcription activity in fetoplacental tissues. J. Nutr. 142: 456-460, 2012.
- 出版日期2012-3
