Leptin Concentrations Are Elevated in Newborn Infants of Diabetic Mothers

Abstract

Background: Infants of diabetic mothers have been characterized by macrosomia due to hyperinsulinism. A relation has been observed between circulating levels of leptin and the intrauterine growth pattern. Methods: We studied the leptin and insulin concentrations in the cord blood of 29 newborn infants of mothers with type 1 diabetes (iT1DM), 70 newborn infants of mothers with gestational diabetes and 105 newborn infants of nondiabetic mothers. Results: There were significant differences (p < 0.001) between the 3 groups with the highest leptin levels 24.9 µg/l (range 1.7–94.1) in infants of mothers with iT1DM and the second-highest levels 14.0 µg/l (range 2.6–74.9) in infants of mothers with gestational diabetes (iGDM), whereas the control infants had the lowest leptin levels 10.0 µg/l (range 0.10–45.9). Girls had higher leptin concentrations than boys among the iT1DM and control infants. The insulin concentrations were 18.1 mU/l (range 1.9–123.3), 6.1 mU/l (range 1.1–51.4) and 3.6 mU/l (range 0.5–21.5) in the 3 groups (p < 0.001), respectively. A significant correlation was observed between leptin and insulin concentrations in iGDM and control infants (r = 0.51; p < 0.001 and r = 0.25; p < 0.05). Both absolute and relative birth weights correlated with leptin levels in all 3 groups (r = 0.60, p = 0.01 and r = 0.51, p = 0.05 in iT1DM; r = 0.51 and 0.56, p < 0.001 in iGDM and r = 0.42 and 0.59, p < 0.001 in control infants). Conclusion: Our results confirm the relation between leptin concentrations and birth weight. They also suggest that leptin may be involved in the increased accumulation of adipose tissue characteristic of infants of diabetic mothers.

Pro-TRH and pro-CRF expression in paraventricular nucleus of small litter-reared fasted adult rats

“…This animal model may be useful for understanding the refractoriness of adults with infant obesity or the offspring of diabetic mothers (Dussault et al 1982, Walker & Courtin 1985, Pracyk et al 1992, Cetin et al 2000, Tapanainen et al 2001, Wilcoxon & Redei 2004, Moura et al 2008 to reduce weight in response to diet therapy and their propensity to develop obesity and its co-morbidities.…”

Regulation of leptin synthesis and secretion before birth: implications for the early programming of adult obesity

“…In pregnancies complicated by maternal diabetes, the fetus is hyperglycaemic, hyperinsulinaemic and hyperleptinaemic (Koistinen et al 1997, Matsuda et al 1997, Jaquet et al 1998, Shekhawat et al 1998, Cetin et al 2000, Tapanainen et al 2001. Newborn infants who are small for their gestational age (SGA) also show a marked reduction in body fat mass at birth, which mainly reflects a decreased accumulation of lipid in the adipocytes (Levy-Marchal et al 2004).…”

Markers of bone metabolism, serum leptin levels and bone mineral density in preterm babies

“…Higher leptin levels can be found in babies with diabetic mothers. There is increased accumulation of adipose tissue, which is characteristic for such infants (12,13). The serum leptin level reveals that the level of nutrition is equal to the level of hormones.…”