Maternal Vitamin A deficiency during pregnancy affects vascularized islet development

Vitamin A deficiency is known to affect 20 million pregnant women worldwide. However, the prenatal effects of maternal vitamin A deficiency on pancreas development has not been clearly determined. The present study examined how maternal vitamin A deficiency affects fetal islet development. Vitamin-A deficient mice were generated by feeding female mice with a chemically-defined diet lacking vitamin A prior to mating as well as during pregnancy. We found that maternal vitamin-A deficiency during pregnancy affected fetal pancreas development.
Source: The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Source Type: research