A team of researchers at the University of Cambridge in Britain has unveiled an amazing mechanism through which the fetus can control the nature of the nutrients it receives from the mother during pregnancy, based on a specific gene transmitted to it through the father.
Within the framework of the study, which was published by the scientific journal “Cell Metabolism”, which specializes in cellular metabolism research related to the process of converting food into energy within the human body, the researchers found that fetuses use this gene to influence the mother’s body in order to obtain more nutrients. During the months of pregnancy.
The researchers explain that this mechanism, which resembles remote control, works through hormonal signals transmitted from the fetus to the mother via the placenta in order to change the mother’s metabolism and provide the best growth opportunities for the fetus.
The research team believes that this mechanism, which they describe as a “battle for food,” takes place according to a delicate balance, since it is extremely important not only for the growth of the fetus, but also for the safety of the mother and her reproductive health in the future.
Researchers confirm that in the context of this battle, the fetus is trying to control the mother’s metabolism by remote control in order to obtain the maximum benefit, at a time when the mother’s body is trying to create a kind of balance between its needs on the one hand, and meeting the growth requirements of the fetus on the other hand. Therefore, it is necessary for the mother during pregnancy to obtain sufficient amounts of glucose and fats to meet her energy needs and maintain the sustainability of the pregnancy and later breastfeeding, while enhancing her chances of conceiving again in the future.
Researchers explain that the placenta, an organ formed inside the uterus that connects the mother and the fetus throughout pregnancy, and through which the fetus obtains the food and oxygen necessary to survive and grow, plays a major role in this biological process, as it secretes certain hormones to communicate with the mother’s body in order to Giving priority to fetal growth.
Signs for the mother
Researcher Amanda Berry, an embryologist and fellow of St. John’s College, University of Cambridge, and one of the study participants, says that this research is “the first direct evidence to prove that the gene that the fetus obtains from the father gives signals to the mother in order to obtain the nutrients it needs.”
Miguel Constancia, a professor of metabolic sciences from the Wellcome MRC Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, adds in statements to the Scitech Daily website, which specializes in scientific research, that “the fetus’s remote control system works through genes, and can be turned on or off.” According to the genes that the fetus obtains from both the father and mother through what is known as genetic imprinting.
Researcher Constancia says, “The genes that the fetus obtains from the father are characterized by greed and selfishness and seek to manipulate the nutritional resources of the mother’s body for the benefit of the fetus, so that it grows and is in the best condition. Although pregnancy is a largely cooperative process, there is a large arena for conflict between the mother and the fetus.” “The placenta and copied genes play a major role in this conflict.”
The researchers found that the genes that the fetus obtains from the father aim to enhance growth, while the genes that it obtains from the mother seek to limit the growth of the fetus and not deplete the mother’s body.
Researcher Amanda Berry, in statements to the SciTech Daily website, expressed her belief that “the genes that the fetus obtains from the mother, and which reduce the growth process, are the mother’s way of survival, so that the fetus does not seize all the nutrients and becomes large in size, which affects the birth process itself.” This mechanism also gives the mother the opportunity to maintain her health and give birth again in the future.”
As part of the experiment, the researchers turned off the function of one of the important genes that is transmitted to the fetus from the father, called “Igf2”, which is the gene that gives signals to the mother’s body to produce protein, and plays a major role in the growth of fetal tissues, including That’s the placenta, liver and brain.
Gene inactivation
Jorge Lopez Tello, a researcher at the Department of Physiology and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and one of the study participants, says: “If the function of this gene is disabled, the mother’s body does not produce a sufficient amount of glucose and fats in the blood circulation, and thus the fetus does not receive sufficient nutrients.” “He cannot grow properly.”
The researchers also found that deleting the Igf2 gene from placental cells affects the production of other hormones that regulate insulin secretion in the pancreas, and also affects the response of the liver and tissues responsible for the metabolism process. Amanda Berry says, “We found that the IGF2 gene controls the hormone responsible for reducing sensitivity to insulin in the mother’s body during pregnancy, meaning that the mother’s tissues cannot absorb glucose, which increases the amount of nutrients available to the fetus in the mother’s blood circulation.” “.
Amanda Berry pointed out that fetuses who suffer from a defect in the aforementioned gene may suffer from excessive growth or deficiency in the intrauterine growth process, but researchers have not yet been able to determine the part within the gene responsible for directing signals in order to increase the nutrients that the fetus obtains from the body. “His mother.”
She stressed that this study “highlights the importance of controlling the process of transferring nutrients from the mother to the fetus during pregnancy in order to preserve the health of the future newborn, as well as the main role that the placenta plays in this process.”