Sugar-Specific Modulation of Trophoblast Function and Bioenergetics Under Metabolic Stress Conditions
- 1Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, , Provo, UT 84602, USA
- 2Department of Preparatory Medicine, School of Medicine, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Abstract
How sugars other than glucose affect trophoblast function is poorly understood, particularly under the metabolic stress of diabetic pregnancy. We compared glucose, fructose, and the minimally metabolized sugar allulose in two trophoblast cell lines, SW71 (first-trimester, extravillous-like) and BeWo (choriocarcinoma-derived, villous). Each sugar was added at 25 mM for 24 h to the cells’ standard glucose-containing media (11 mM, SW71; 17.5 mM, BeWo) to model metabolic stress. All three sugars increased the number of cells recovered (2.4- to 6.5-fold in SW71; ~10- to 15-fold in BeWo) and reduced viability (~9–75%), with fructose causing the largest loss in both lines. Intracellular reactive oxygen species increased 5.2- to 7.8-fold with all sugars. Oxygen consumption differed by sugar: in SW71 cells, glucose and allulose increased ADP-stimulated and succinate-supported respiration, whereas fructose reduced it, and in BeWo cells only fructose increased it. SW71 invasion was ~7-fold higher after allulose than after glucose or fructose. BeWo cells were studied undifferentiated, so effects on syncytialization were not assessed. The three sugars are therefore not interchangeable in their effects on trophoblast cells in vitro. Because the concentrations exceed those in maternal blood, these findings are hypothesis-generating and require testing at physiological concentrations and in primary trophoblast models.
Related
- Hippocampal and hypothalamic cell-type specific mechanisms underlying nutritional and metabolic modulation of Alzheimer’s disease
- Obesity, Metabolic Modulation, and Arrhythmias: From Adipose Tissue Dysfunction to a Modifiable Arrhythmogenic Substrate
- Modulation of hormones in perimenopausal women by probiotics associated by specific gut bacteria: a pilot study
- Ceramidase is involved in metabolic reprogramming of fibroblasts under hypoxia conditions
- Calcium oxalate kidney stone morphology reflects underlying metabolic and clinical conditions
BibTeX
@article{thurmond2026sugarspecific,
title = {{Sugar-Specific Modulation of Trophoblast Function and Bioenergetics Under Metabolic Stress Conditions}},
author = {Elizabeth Thurmond and Madeline Boyer and Benjamin T. Bikman and Paul R. Reynolds and Juan A. Arroyo},
journal = {International journal of molecular sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27198920},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666179},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Sugar-Specific Modulation of Trophoblast Function and Bioenergetics Under Metabolic Stress Conditions
AU - Elizabeth Thurmond
AU - Madeline Boyer
AU - Benjamin T. Bikman
AU - Paul R. Reynolds
AU - Juan A. Arroyo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - International journal of molecular sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27198920
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666179
AB - How sugars other than glucose affect trophoblast function is poorly understood, particularly under the metabolic stress of diabetic pregnancy. We compared glucose, fructose, and the minimally metabolized sugar allulose in two trophoblast cell lines, SW71 (first-trimester, extravillous-like) and BeWo (choriocarcinoma-derived, villous). Each sugar was added at 25 mM for 24 h to the cells’ standard glucose-containing media (11 mM, SW71; 17.5 mM, BeWo) to model metabolic stress. All three sugars increased the number of cells recovered (2.4- to 6.5-fold in SW71; ~10- to 15-fold in BeWo) and reduced viability (~9–75%), with fructose causing the largest loss in both lines. Intracellular reactive oxygen species increased 5.2- to 7.8-fold with all sugars. Oxygen consumption differed by sugar: in SW71 cells, glucose and allulose increased ADP-stimulated and succinate-supported respiration, whereas fructose reduced it, and in BeWo cells only fructose increased it. SW71 invasion was ~7-fold higher after allulose than after glucose or fructose. BeWo cells were studied undifferentiated, so effects on syncytialization were not assessed. The three sugars are therefore not interchangeable in their effects on trophoblast cells in vitro. Because the concentrations exceed those in maternal blood, these findings are hypothesis-generating and require testing at physiological concentrations and in primary trophoblast models.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -