title: Maternal and cord blood ghrelin in the pregnancies of smoking mothers: possible markers of nutrient availability for the fetus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the role of ghrelin in maternal and fetal metabolism, we determined its value in maternal smoking, a specific cause of reduced placenta function and fetal growth.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 85 normal term pregnancies, 42 in smoking and 43 in non-smoking mothers, we measured ghrelin in the maternal blood at the onset of labor and in the cord blood of their 85 singletons immediately after birth. We determined the relationships between ghrelin and placental GH (PGH), pituitary GH (pitGH), and IGF-I.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The newborns of smoking mothers weighed 0.24 kg less (p < 0.05) than those of non-smoking mothers. Cord blood ghrelin was 71% higher and PGH and cord blood IGF-I were 34% and 32% lower, respectively, in the pregnancies of smoking compared with non-smoking mothers (p < 0.05). Cord blood ghrelin was unrelated to pitGH and cord blood IGF-I. Maternal ghrelin was unchanged in smoking mothers, increased with maternal fasting duration (r = 0.26, p < 0.05), showed no correlation with PGH and negative correlation with cord blood IGF-I (r = -0.42, p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The decrease in placental function and fetal growth in smoking mothers is associated with an increase in cord blood ghrelin, and no change in maternal ghrelin. Maternal ghrelin concentration increases with fasting, and is negatively correlated with cord blood IGF-I: it may signal a reduction in the level of nutrients available for placental transfer. No correlation supports a role for ghrelin in PGH or pitGH secretion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital, Angers, France.
authors.forename: Natacha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bouhours-Nouet
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boux de Casson
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rouleau
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Douay
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mathieu
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bouderlique
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gillard
authors.forename: Jean Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Limal
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Descamps
authors.forename: Régis
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Coutant
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D001724:Birth Weight; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D054439:Ghrelin; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 / Q000097:blood; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000032:analysis; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D000072483:Placenta Growth Factor; D011247:Pregnancy; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000097:blood; D012907:Smoking / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D054439:Ghrelin; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3; C000608036:PGF protein, human; D036361:Peptide Hormones; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D000072483:Placenta Growth Factor; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I