Grant: Project Grant

This project grant is focused on understanding the relationship between folic acid, a synthetic form of the B-vitamin folate, and diabetes in pregnancy and its impact on the developing fetus. There are concerns that women in Canada are consuming too much folic acid during pregnancy and while they are nursing and that this may negatively impact the mother during pregnancy and the developing fetus. Prior studies have reported that women who take more folic acid than required are at greater risk for developing diabetes in pregnancy. This is concerning because women who develop diabetes in pregnancy are at risk for diabetes after pregnancy; and the diabetes can negatively impact the developing fetus and increase risk for diabetes later in childhood. We postulate that folic acid directly impacts the cells in the body that make insulin; these cells are called beta cells and are in the pancreas. In diabetes, the ability to make or use insulin is impaired and this causes blood sugar levels to be high. Beta cell development occurs in the fetus and immediately following birth while the baby is only consuming milk. Therefore, if the fetus is exposed to high folic acid and if the baby consumes milk with high folic acid there could be negative impacts on the development of beta cells leading to diabetes in childhood. This project grant will investigate how folic acid impacts the development of beta cells in the fetus and in the babies during the time when they are consuming mother's milk using a mouse model. We will also identify components in blood from women who are in a study to determine if folic acid supplementation past the first trimester of pregnancy increases the risk of developing diabetes in pregnancy. Understanding the effects of high folic acid intakes during pregnancy on the health of the mother and developing fetus is paramount to optimizing recommendations for pregnant and nursing women.