title: Circulating levels of ciliary neurotrophic factor in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.
abstract: Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) has been shown to decrease food intake in mouse models of obesity and to improve insulin sensitivity. It is well known that tight regulation of glucose metabolism is essential for successful gestational outcomes (e.g. fetal growth), and that abnormal insulin resistance is associated with preeclampsia (PE). To investigate the possibility that CNTF might be involved in the regulation of insulin resistance during pregnancy, circulating levels of CNTF were assessed in non-pregnant, normal pregnant, postpartum, and pregnant women with PE. Sera from healthy non-pregnant women (n = 10), pregnant women (n = 30:1st trimester; n = 10, 2nd trimester n = 10; 3rd trimester; n = 10), postpartum women (n = 10), and patients with PE (n = 11) were studied with Western blotting. Circulating CNTF was detected by Western blotting, and the levels of CNTF in pregnant women were decreased as compared with those in non-pregnant women, and tended to decrease as pregnancy progressed. A significant decrease was found in PE as compared with normal pregnancy. Circulating CNTF might be associated with physiological and abnormal insulin resistance during pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8558, Japan. pori34rb@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akahori
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takamoto
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Masumoto
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakatsukasa
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Masuyama
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hiramatsu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D020934:Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood*; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D020934:Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor