Effect of folic acid on human trophoblast health and function in vitro

Abstract Introduction The combined intake of folic acid (FA) from prenatal multivitamin supplements and fortified foods can result in FA intake values that exceed the tolerable upper intake level (UL). It is unclear what impact FA intake above the UL may have on the feto-placental unit. Our objective was to determine the effects of increasing concentrations of FA on trophoblast health and function in vitro. Methods Two human placental cell lines [HTR-8/SVneo (n = 5 experiments) and BeWo (n = 5 experiments)] and human placenta tissue explants (n = 6 experiments) were exposed to increasing concentrations of FA (2–2000 ng/mL) for 48-h. Intracellular total folate concentration, trophoblast proliferation, viability, apoptosis, placenta cell invasion and β-hCG hormone release were assessed. Results Exposure to increasing FA concentrations resulted in higher intracellular total folate in placental cell lines and tissue explants (p