title: Metabolomic profiling in blood from umbilical cords of low birth weight newborns.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Low birth weight has been linked to an increased risk to develop obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension in adult life, although the mechanisms underlying the association are not well understood. The objective was to determine whether the metabolomic profile of plasma from umbilical cord differs between low and normal birth weight newborns.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty healthy pregnant women and their infants were selected. The eligibility criteria were being born at term and having a normal pregnancy. Pairs were grouped according to their birth weight: low birth weight (LBW, birth weight < 10th percentile, n = 20) and control (control, birth weight between the 75th-90th percentiles, n = 30). Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) was used to generate metabolic fingerprints of umbilical cord plasma samples. Simultaneously, the metabolomic profiles of the mothers were analysed. The resulting data were subjected to chemometric, principal component and partial least squares discriminant analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Umbilical cord plasma from LBW and control newborns displayed a clearly differentiated metabolic profile. Seven metabolites were identified that discriminate the LBW from the control group. LBW newborns had lower levels of choline, proline, glutamine, alanine and glucose than did the control newborns, while plasma levels of phenylalanine and citrulline were higher in LBW newborns (p < 0.05). No significant differences were found between the two groups of mothers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low birth weight newborns display a differential metabolomic profile than those of normal birth weight, a finding not present in the mothers. The meaning and the potential utility of the findings as biomarkers of risk need to be addressed in future studies.
authors: Cardiovascular Risk Unit, Consorcio, Hospital General, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
authors: Carmen
authors: C
authors: Ivorra
authors: Consuelo
authors: C
authors: García-Vicent
authors: Felipe Javier
authors: FJ
authors: Chaves
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Monleón
authors: José Manuel
authors: JM
authors: Morales
authors: Empar
authors: E
authors: Lurbe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D055432:Metabolomics; D009035:Mothers; D011247:Pregnancy; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000378:metabolism*