title: Born from pre-eclamptic pregnancies predisposes infants to altered cortisol metabolism in the first postnatal year.
abstract: Pre-eclampsia leads to disturbed fetal organ development, including metabolic syndrome, attributed to altered pituitary-adrenal feedback loop. We measured cortisol metabolites in infants born from pre-eclamptic and normotensive women and hypothesised that glucocorticoid exposure would be exaggerated in the former. Twenty-four hour urine was collected from infants at months 3 and 12. Cortisol metabolites and apparent enzyme activities were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. From 3 to 12 months, excretion of THS, THF and pregnandiol had risen in both groups; THF also rose in the pre-eclamptic group. No difference was observed with respect to timing of the visit or to hypertensive status for THE or total F metabolites (P>0.05). All apparent enzymes activities, except 17α-hydroxylase, were lower in infants at 12 compared to 3 months in the normotensive group. In the pre-eclamptic group, only 11β-HSD activities were lower at 12 months.17α-hydroxylase and 11β-HSD activities of tetrahydro metabolites were higher in the pre-eclamptic group at 3 months (P<0.05). 11β-hydroxylase activity increased in the pre-eclamptic group at 12 months. Cortisol excretion, determined by increased 11β-hydroxylase, compensates for high 11β-HSD-dependent cortisol degradation at 3 months and at 12 months counterbalances the reduced cortisol substrate availability in infants born from pre-eclamptic mothers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and GynaecologySchool of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UKDepartment of NephrologyHypertension and Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Research, University of Bern, 3010 Berne, SwitzerlandLeicester Royal InfirmaryLeicester, LE1 5WW, UK.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Broughton Pipkin
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and GynaecologySchool of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UKDepartment of NephrologyHypertension and Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Research, University of Bern, 3010 Berne, SwitzerlandLeicester Royal InfirmaryLeicester, LE1 5WW, UK.
authors.forename: Hiten D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Mistry
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and GynaecologySchool of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UKDepartment of NephrologyHypertension and Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Research, University of Bern, 3010 Berne, SwitzerlandLeicester Royal InfirmaryLeicester, LE1 5WW, UK.
authors.forename: Chandrima
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and GynaecologySchool of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UKDepartment of NephrologyHypertension and Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Research, University of Bern, 3010 Berne, SwitzerlandLeicester Royal InfirmaryLeicester, LE1 5WW, UK.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dick
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and GynaecologySchool of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UKDepartment of NephrologyHypertension and Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Research, University of Bern, 3010 Berne, SwitzerlandLeicester Royal InfirmaryLeicester, LE1 5WW, UK.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Waugh
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and GynaecologySchool of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UKDepartment of NephrologyHypertension and Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Research, University of Bern, 3010 Berne, SwitzerlandLeicester Royal InfirmaryLeicester, LE1 5WW, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chikhi
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and GynaecologySchool of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UKDepartment of NephrologyHypertension and Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Research, University of Bern, 3010 Berne, SwitzerlandLeicester Royal InfirmaryLeicester, LE1 5WW, UK.
authors.forename: Lesia O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Kurlak
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and GynaecologySchool of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UKDepartment of NephrologyHypertension and Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical Research, University of Bern, 3010 Berne, SwitzerlandLeicester Royal InfirmaryLeicester, LE1 5WW, UK markus.mohaupt@insel.ch.
authors.forename: Markus G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Mohaupt
keywords: infants; pre-eclampsia; steroid hormones; urine