Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on mRNA Expression of Calcium Transporters, Hormones, and Receptors During Pregnancy

Abstract

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency is a common disorder worldwide. It has many risk factors and impacts on the human body. Interestingly, this hypovitaminosis is prevalent in pregnant women, and the majority of them are on Vitamin D supplementation.

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy on the expression of key placental calcium homeostasis genes including calcium transporters, receptors and hormones involved in fetal bone growth and mineralization.

Methods: Patients are divided into 3 groups; first group supplemented with 600IU/day which is a low dose of vitamin D, second group supplemented with 3000IU/day considered as a high dose, and a control group taking less than 200IU/day. Placental tissues were cut off after delivery, snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and then stored at -80°C. Afterwards, tissues were dissolved in RNA-Ice later solution, and RNA extraction was conducted using Trizol reagent as per manufacturer’s instructions. RNAs were reverse transcribed into cDNA and subjected to gene expression profiling by real-time PCR using specific primers for target genes. In order to validate the specificity of the PCR products, gel electrophoresis using the amplicons was performed and confirmed the expected size of the PCR products.

Results: Our preliminary data revealed that there is no significant variation in the expression of different calcium homeostatic genes that were tested on different groups that took different dosages of vitamin D supplementation. The significance might change with continuing testing the expression on the remaining samples.