Table 2. Liver concentrations of total thiols and of SAH, SAM and adenosine in MTHFR-deficient pups at P6 stratified for genotype and maternal diet.
Controls received standard rodent chow, whereas the betaine group received an additional betaine supplement of 2% (w/v) in the drinking water. The dietary groups of the three genotypes comprised littermates of mixed genders. Results are means±S.E.M. for eight individuals; *P<0.05 for difference between dietary groups of same genotype; †P<0.05 compared with wild-type genotype in the same dietary group; symbols in parentheses indicate borderline significance (P=0.06–0.09).
| Wild type | Heterozygous | Nullizygous | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metabolite | Control | Betaine | Control | Betaine | Control | Betaine |
| Homocysteine (nmol/mg) | 0.406±0.030 | 0.387±0.022 | 0.559±0.024† | 0.512±0.031† | 1.907±0.112† | 1.255±0.076*† |
| Methionine (nmol/mg) | 24.0±1.4 | 25.0±0.9 | 16.4±0.9† | 20.8±0.8*† | 12.4±0.7† | 15.9±0.7*† |
| SAH (pmol/mg) | 89±4 | 121±4* | 124±12† | 101±3(*)† | 290±28† | 144±13* |
| SAM (pmol/mg) | 467±38 | 551±24(*) | 385±27(†) | 473±28*(†) | 391±39 | 440±28† |
| Cysteine (nmol/mg) | 45.8±1.3 | 43.9±1.0 | 49.5±1.7 | 52.4±1.4† | 66.5±2.2† | 64.4±1.5† |
| Cystathionine (nmol/mg) | 1.40±0.10 | 1.23±0.06 | 2.38±0.09† | 2.10±0.13† | 4.57±0.25† | 2.77±0.27*† |
| Glutathione (nmol/mg) | 54.8±1.5 | 52.8±1.2 | 49.4±1.5† | 49.4±1.9 | 47.4±1.7† | 48.9±1.0† |
| Cysteinylglycine (nmol/mg) | 31.6±1.3 | 33.0±1.0 | 32.5±0.9 | 34.0±1.5 | 26.6±1.9† | 25.1±1.3† |
| Adenosine (pmol/mg) | 487±29 | 344±12* | 615±46(†) | 723±25(*)† | 1308±136† | 820±57*† |