title: Cord blood immune biomarkers in small for gestational age births.
abstract: Fetal growth restriction is a risk factor for development of adulthood diseases, but the biological mechanism of this association remains unknown. Limited biomarkers have been studied in settings of preterm birth and maternal inflammation, but the relationship between a wide range of immune biomarkers and fetal growth has not been studied. The hypothesis of this study was that fetal growth restriction is associated with altered immune biomarker levels. We examined the relationship between small for gestational age (SGA) status and 27 umbilical cord blood immune biomarkers. This study was part of a large-scale cohort study of preterm birth and low birth weight conducted at Boston Medical Center, an inner city, predominantly minority patient population. Growth status was determined based on birth weight standardized to an internal reference. There were 74 SGA births and 319 appropriate for age (AGA) births with complete clinical and biomarker data. Adjusting for covariates and using AGA as reference, SGA births had lower levels of log IL-1β (ng/l; β -0.38, 95% CI -0.57, -0.19, P < 0.01), log BDNF (β -0.29, 95% CI -0.55, -0.03, P < 0.05) and log NT-3 (β -0.46, 95% CI -0.77, -0.15, P < 0.01). No associations were found between other biomarkers and SGA. In conclusion, three biomarkers were selectively associated with SGA status. Our results provide information that could be used to guide additional studied aimed at determining mechanisms that contribute to fetal growth.
authors.affiliation: 1Division of Neonatology, Children's Memorial Hospital, and Department of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matoba
authors.affiliation: 2Mary Ann and J. Milburn Smith Child Health Research Program, Children's Memorial Hospital and Children's Memorial Research Center, and Department of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.affiliation: 1Division of Neonatology, Children's Memorial Hospital, and Department of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: K K L
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Mestan
authors.affiliation: 1Division of Neonatology, Children's Memorial Hospital, and Department of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: N F M
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Porta
authors.affiliation: 3Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.affiliation: 3Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Ortiz
authors.affiliation: 3Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Bauchner
authors.affiliation: 3Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Zuckerman
authors.affiliation: 2Mary Ann and J. Milburn Smith Child Health Research Program, Children's Memorial Hospital and Children's Memorial Research Center, and Department of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang