Elevated amniotic fluid leptin levels in pregnant women who are destined to develop preeclampsia.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze whether leptin levels of the amniotic fluid elevate during early pregnancy in women destined to develop preeclampsia and to evaluate the relationship between amniotic fluid leptin levels and gestational age, maternal body mass index, and fetal sex.


METHODS
Leptin levels of the amniotic fluid were compared in two groups of women, preeclamptic (n = 20) and normotensive pregnant (n = 40), matched for fetal sex, maternal body mass index at sampling, gravidity and fetal gestational age at sampling. Furthermore, amniotic leptin levels in 400 normotensive pregnant women were analyzed for their correlation with gestational age, maternal body mass index, and fetal sex.


RESULTS
Median leptin concentrations were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in the women with preeclampsia (7.3+/-0.7 ng/ml) than in the normotensive pregnant women (4.1 +/- 0.3 ng/ml), independent of fetal sex. The leptin levels in the amniotic fluid decreased with advanced gestational age (r = 0.24, p < 0.001). Amniotic fluid leptin levels in the pregnant women carrying a female fetus (5.6+/-0.3ng/ml) were significantly higher than those carrying a male fetus (4.7+/-0.2 ng/ml) (p = 0.004).


CONCLUSIONS
Higher amniotic fluid leptin levels were observed in the preeclamptic pregnant women, and they decreased as gestational age advanced. Furthermore, the women with a female fetus were noted to have higher amniotic fluid leptin levels.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Te-Fu
TF
Chan
Jinu-Huang
JH
Su
Yueh-Fang
YF
Chung
Yu-Hsin
YH
Hsu
Yao-Tsung
YT
Yeh
Shyng-Shiou F
SS
Yuan
D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000378:metabolism*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors
D020738:Leptin