
Akio Nakamura
Jissen Women’s University, JapanTitle: Disease mechanisms in children born to pregnant women with abnormal glucose metabolism, and preventive medicine using functional lipids
Abstract
In Japan, the incidence of pregnancies complicated by diabetes and
gestational diabetes mellitus is increasing with the rise in age at childbearing
due to changes in the social system. In the intrauterine environment of
pregnant women with these glucose metabolism disorders, high blood glucose levels
pass through the placenta, and advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are
produced by excessive protein glycation reactions during the differentiation
and formation of each fetal organ. Furthermore, it has been reported that AGEs
produced in maternal blood may induce oxidative stress and inflammation via
their receptor—receptor for advanced glycation end-products (i.e., “RAGE”)—and
cause associated disorders such as insulin resistance, directly affecting the
fetus via the placenta. As a result, they are believed to cause signaling
disorders such as insulin resistance in various fetal organs. These fetal
signaling disorders have been reported to be closely associated with future
development of disease in the child. Although insulin is used as a symptomatic
treatment for these disorders, in many cases, it is not effective due to the
induction of insulin resistance in many mothers with gestational diabetes. As
such, exploratory research is considered to be important for the development of
functional foods for primary prevention that are safe for pregnant women.
Exploratory research has focused
on palmitoleic acid, an n-7 unsaturated fatty acid, which improves this signaling impairment. It is a functional lipid with two isomeric forms—cis and
trans—that exert different effects. This talk presents the latest findings regarding
the molecular mechanisms of the effects of AGEs on the fetus in an intrauterine
hyperglycemic environment based on data from experimental animal and cellular
models. In addition, the concept of preventive medicine as a pre-emptive strategy
to obviate disease development in children born to mothers with diabetic
pregnancy complications will be discussed.
Biography
Akio Nakamura graduated from Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine
(Gunma, Japan) at 30 years of age. He is currently a professor in the
Department of Nutritional Biochemistry at Jissen Women’s University (Tokyo,
Japan). His research uses animal and cellular models to elucidate the molecular
mechanisms of the DOHaD hypothesis. His special interest is Aikido (4th dan).