Folate receptor‐1 is vital for developmental competence of goat embryos

Abstract

Folate is the common term for folic acid and its derivatives exhibiting similar characteristics. It is highly essential for cell division, due to its activity as a coenzyme in C1 unit transfers during nucleotide and amino acid synthesis (Shulpekova et al., 2021). A substantial amount of folate is, therefore, crucial when cell turnover is high, such as during foetal development. It is well established that folic acid supplementation during pregnancy can lower the risk of neural tube abnormalities in infants (Wald et al., 1991). Oocytes acquire and store the folates during the follicle developmental stages, which are utilized for the post-fertilization development (Kwong et al., 2010). This necessitates the adequate pre-conception folate supplementation in the females (Blencowe et al., 2010;Lindemann, 1993).In order to perform its functions, folate must be delivered inside the cells. Folate transport across cell membranes is primarily assisted by receptor-and carrier-mediated transport pathways. The folate receptors, FOLR 1 and 2, mediate receptor-mediated transport (Antony, 1992(Antony, , 1996, whereas carrier-mediated transport is facilitated by reduced folate carrier (RFC1), which is an ion exchange carrier protein (Assaraf et al., 1999). Dihydrofolate reductase converts internalized folic acid to dihydrofolate and subsequently to