title: The role of visfatin (PBEF/Nampt) in pregnancy complications.
abstract: Visfatin (PBEF/Nampt) is an adipocytokine that exerts pleiotropic effects within the human body, particularly affecting its metabolism and immunity. Visfatin was originally identified as being secreted by peripheral blood lymphocytes acting as a pre-B-cell colony-enhancing factor (PBEF). However, it was subsequently reported to be expressed in almost every tissue of the human body, with visceral fat deposits being the main source of visfatin. In addition to its secreted form, visfatin may also be found intracellularly where it functions as a nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt). Visfatin maternal plasma concentrations increase during pregnancy, suggesting its important role in this complicated process. Alterations in visfatin level also take place in patients during pregnancy complications. This review focuses on the ones that most commonly occur in connection with visfatin: preterm labor, pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes mellitus. The review aims to provide a better understanding of the role of visfatin during pregnancy and the causes of its alteration in maternal plasma, highlighting the potential use of visfatin as a diagnostic marker of pregnancy complications in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathological Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, Building A18, Brno 62500, Czech Republic. Electronic address: tereza.pavlova1@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tereza
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pavlová
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathological Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, Building A18, Brno 62500, Czech Republic. Electronic address: jnmedved@seznam.cz.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Novák
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathological Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, Building A18, Brno 62500, Czech Republic; Regional Centre for Applied Molecular Oncology, Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, Žlutý kopec 7, Brno 65653, Czech Republic. Electronic address: Vasku.Julie@seznam.cz.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bienertová-Vašků
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D054409:Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D054409:Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase; C085455:nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase, human
keywords: Gestational diabetes mellitus; Maternal plasma; Pre-eclampsia; Preterm labor; Sirtuins; Visfatin