Preliminary Study of Iron Concentration in the Human Placenta in Twin Pregnancies

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy significantly increases the demand for iron (Fe) in the female body to facilitate maternal blood volume expansion, placental development, and fetal growth. As Fe flux in pregnancy is significantly influenced by the placenta, the aim of this study was to determine the dependencies between the Fe concentration in the placenta, the infant's morphometric parameters and the woman's morphological blood parameters in the last trimester.

Methods: The study was conducted on 33 women with multiple (dichorionic-diamniotic) pregnancies from whom the placentas were drawn, and their 66 infants, including pairs of monozygotic (n = 23) and mixed-sex twins (n = 10). Fe concentrations were determined based on inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) using ICAP 7400 Duo, Thermo Scientific.

Results: The results of the analysis showed that lower placental Fe concentrations were associated with deteriorated morphometric parameters of infants, including weight and head circumference. Although we found no statistically significant dependencies between Fe concentration in the placenta and the women's morphological blood parameters, higher Fe concentration in the placenta of mothers supplemented with Fe correlated with better morphometric parameters in infants compared to those whose mothers received no Fe supplementation.

Conclusions: The research adds additional knowledge for placental iron-related processes during multiple pregnancies. However, many limitations of the study do not allow detailed conclusions to be assessed, and statistical data should be assessed conservatively.

Keywords: human placenta; iron; multiple pregnancy.

Figure 1

The placenta has several functions, of which the most important are protective, metabolic and transport functions. The protective function is crucial during infections (bacteria, viruses, fungi) or the action of xenobiotics. Transport and metabolic functions require many elements (e.g., Fe) and chemical compounds (e.g., amino acids, hormones or lipids). Appropriate levels of placental Fe are crucial for correct gene regulation, electron transfer reaction, oxygen transport and storage, and the regulation of cell growth and differentiation. Deficiency of placental Fe causes perinatal death, IDA, birth asphyxia, low birth weight, and pre-eclampsia.