Grant: Operating Grant

Folate, a B vitamin, play an important role in human health and disease. Folate and its synthetic form, folic acid, have generally been regarded as safe and purely beneficial. In Canada, an overwhelming body of evidence for a protective effect of maternal folic acid supplementation on neural tube defects led to mandatory folic acid supplementation in 1998. Also, up to 40% of the Canadian population are taking folic acid supplementation for several possible but as yet unproven health benefits. As a result, intake and blood measurements of folate and folic acid in Canada have dramatically increased over the past decade. Furthermore, it is recommended that all women planning a pregnancy or capable of becoming pregnant take folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects. These facts suggest that intrauterine exposure of the developing fetus to folate has significantly increased in Canada. Recently, an emerging body of evidence has warned of potential harmful effects of high levels of folate and folic acid and has suggested that folic acid supplementation may promote, rather than prevent, the development of certain chronic diseases. Folate plays an important role in DNA methylation, an important molecular process that affects expression, structure and function of critical genes that play a mechanistic role in the development of chronic diseases including cancer. DNA methylation undergoes extensive programming during embryogenesis and hence, the embryonic stage is highly susceptible to changes in the intrauterine environment. Animal studies from our and other laboratories have indeed demonstrated that maternal folic acid supplementation can influence DNA methylation in the offspring and modify their susceptibility to certain diseases in adulthood. We propose a clinical study to determine the effect of maternal intake and blood measurements of folate and folic acid on DNA methylation of the newborn babies.