The impact of folic acid supplementation during pregnancy on the altered expression of Nav1 and Nlgn1 genes in the cerebral cortex of newborn mice

Background: Folic acid (FA), the synthetic form of folate, plays an important role in brain development. Neuron Navigator 1 (Nav1) is a cytoskeleton-associated protein that plays a role in neuronal cell migration. Neuroligin1 (Nlgn1) is a cell adhesion molecule involved in the formation of synapses. Objective: The effect of FA during pregnancy on the expression of Nav1 and Nlgn1 genes in the cerebral cortex of newborn mice. methods: 45 pregnant mice were divided into three groups of 15 each. The first and second groups respectively received FA with doses of 2 (normal) and 40 (high) mg/kg/BW daily during pregnancy. The third group did not receive FA as a control. Neonatal cerebral cortex was collected for Nav1 and Nlgn1 expression analysis using real-time PCR. Results: The expression level of Nav1 and Nlgn1 in the cerebral cortex in normal dose (2) was higher than in the controls and in the high dose group. 40 mg/kg/bw it was lower than the controls (P<0.0001). While the expression level of these two genes in the high dose (40) showed a significant decrease compared to the normal dose group (2) (P<0.0001). Conclusion: Normal dose of FA increases the Nav1 and Nlgn1 expression, and high dose of FA decreases the expression of both genes compared to the control. As a result, normal amounts of FA affect brain development by changing the expression of two genes, but high amounts may have a negative effect. The protein interaction network showed the relationship between the two proteins Nav1 and Nlgn1 and their role on the synapse.