L‐carnitine increases cell proliferation and amino acid transporter expression via the activation of insulin‐like growth factor I signaling pathway in rat trophoblast cells

Early embryo implantation and development is primarily determined by the homeostasis between cellular apoptosis and proliferation as well as placental nutrient transporters. Recent studies showed that L‐carnitine enhances female reproductive performance. However, the potential function of L‐carnitine on placenta is largely unknown. In our study, primary rat trophoblast cells were separated and cultured for 12 hr in medium containing various concentrations of L‐carnitine (0, 1, 10, and 50 mM). Placenta trophoblast cells treated with 50 mM L‐carnitine increased the proportion of cells in S phase of the cell cycle (p
In this paper, our results showed that L‐carnitine protected placenta trophoblast cells against apoptosis and increased their proliferation. The improvement of amino acid transporters (SNAT1 and SNAT2) in trophoblast cells may be partially induced by the activation of IGF‐1 signaling pathway.