Altered Levels of Scavenging Enzymes in Embryos Subjected to a Diabetic Environment

Maternal diabetes during pregnancy is associated with an increased rate of congenital malformations in the offspring. The exact molecular etiology of the disturbed embryogenesis is unknown, but an involvement of radical oxygen species in the teratological process has been suggested. Oxidative damage presupposes an imbalance between the activity of the free oxygen radicals and the antioxidant defence mechanisms on the cellular level. The aim of the present study was to investigate if maternal diabetes in vivo, or high glucose in vitro alters the expression of the free oxygen radical scavenging enzymes superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD and MnSOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase in rat embryos during late organogenesis. We studied offspring of normal and diabetic rats on gestational days 11 and 12, and also evaluated day-11 embryos after a 48 hour culture period in 10 m M or 50 mM glucose concentration. Both maternal diabetes and high glucose culture caused growth retardation and increased rate of congenita...