Effects of folic acid supplementation on glucose metabolism disorders in male offspring induced by lipopolysaccharide exposure during pregnancy

Adverse environmental factors in the early stage of life can change the gene phenotype of cells through epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, and ultimately affect the occurrence and development of fetogenic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Folic acid (FA) is an important methyl donor in vivo and participates in DNA replication and methylation. The preliminary experimental results of our group demonstrated that low dose of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure during pregnancy could lead to the disorder of glucose metabolism of male offspring, but the effect of folic acid supplementation on the disorder of glucose metabolism of male offspring induced by LPS exposure remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of folic acid supplementation on glucose metabolism disorder in male offspring induced by LPS exposure during pregnancy and its potential mechanism. This study confirmed that FA supplementation of 5mg/kg in pregnant mice improved glucose metabolism of LPS-exposed offspring during pregnancy by regulating gene expression.