Cord blood leptin reflects fetal fat mass.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the relationship between leptin levels and fat mass at the time of birth to test the hypothesis that the level of leptin in the fetal circulation is primarily an index of fetal fat mass.


METHODS
Leptin concentration was measured in cord blood obtained from the offspring of 42 women. Trimmed, drained placental weight and neonatal morphometrics were obtained after delivery.


RESULTS
The ranges in maternal weight (46.7-93.2 kg), weight gain (3.2-22.6 kg), percent body fat (10-34%), placental weight (290-688 g), birth weight (2.63-4.32 kg), neonatal fat mass (179-782 g), and cord blood leptin (1.7-26.7 ng/mL) were wide. The only morphometric variable that explained a significant portion of the variation in cord blood leptin levels was neonatal fat mass (r2 = 0.41), and this relationship was not significantly improved by best subset regression of additional fetal and placental morphometric variables (r2 = 0.46).


CONCLUSIONS
These data support the hypothesis and suggest that in the fetus, as in the child and the adult, fat mass is the major determinant of circulating leptin levels.
Clapp
J F
JF
Department of Reproductive Biology, Case Western Reserve University at MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44109, USA.
Kiess
W
W
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000196:embryology*; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D001823:Body Composition; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D005333:Fetus; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D020738:Leptin; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D010920:Placenta / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D015430:Weight Gain
D020738:Leptin; D011506:Proteins