Urinary Excretion of 3-Hydroxyisovaleric Acid Increases and Biotin Decreases during Pregnancy in Mice

Abstract

The effects of biotin deficiency on maternal metabolism and embryonic development in pregnant mouse dams were studied. In the biotin-deficient group, the inhibition of embryonic development and external malformations such as cleft palate (100 %), micrognathia (100 %) and micromelia (91.4 %) were detected in embryos. Biotin excretion in urine was decreased on day 4 of gestation (dg) and subsequently not detected, and the urinary concentration of 3-hydroxyisovaleric acid (3-HIA) was increased after dg 12. In contrast, the biotin concentration in urine was significantly increased on dgs 4, 8 and 12 in the biotin-supplemented group, and decreased on dg 16 in biotin-supplemented and biotin-control groups. Pyruvic acid in the biotin-deficient group was higher than that in the biotin-supplemented group throughout gestation. These findings demonstrated that the requirement of biotin increases at conception and/or during embryonic development, and a large amount of biotin is necessary for embryonic development in the late stage of gestation.