title: The relationships between leptin and inflammatory cytokines in women with pre-eclampsia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare maternal serum leptin concentration in women with pre-eclampsia and women with normal pregnancy, and to evaluate the relationships between leptin and several inflammatory cytokines.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective clinical study.
  
  
  METHODS
  University Hospital of Puerto Real, Cadiz, Spain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-seven women with pre-eclampsia and 25 normotensive pregnant women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Maternal serum levels of TNF-alpha, TGF-beta1, interleukin 6, and leptin were measured using a commercially available immunoassay.
  
  
  METHODS
  Maternal serum levels of leptin and its relationship to levels of TNF-alpha, TGF-beta1 and interleukin 6.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Maternal serum leptin levels were higher in women with pre-eclampsia, but this difference was of borderline statistical significance (median 15.9 ng/mL; interquartile range (5.4-31.9) vs 30.5 ng/mL (13.9-64) (P = 0.05). The concentration of maternal serum leptin was correlated with pre-gestational and gestational body mass index (r = 0.45, P = 0.03; r = 0.44, P = 0.04), TNF-alpha concentration (r = 0.57, P = 0.002) and interleukin-6 level (r = 0.46, P = 0.02) in women with normal pregnancy. In women with pre-eclampsia, only a significant correlation between maternal serum leptin level and TNF-alpha concentration (0.47, P = 0.01) was found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The level of maternal serum leptin is increased and correlates positively with the level of TNF-alpha in women with pre-eclampsia. In women with a normal pregnancy leptin levels not only correlate with TNF-alpha, but also with IL-6 and body mass index.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital of Puerto Real, Spain.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Bartha
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Romero-Carmona
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Escobar-Llompart
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Comino-Delgado
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha / Q000097:blood; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D015850:Interleukin-6; D020738:Leptin; D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha