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ORIGINAL RESEARCH |
From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan.
Address reprint requests to: Nobuyuki Yoshimitsu, MD Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Kagoshima University 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka Kagoshima 890-8520 Japan
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Abstract |
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Methods: Subjects were 30 mothers who had elective cesarean deliveries and 34 mothers who had vaginal deliveries. Umbilical venous and arterial leptin levels were measured immediately after delivery. Maternal age, neonatal gender, neonatal birth weight, placental weight, and gestational duration were recorded. Inter- and intragroup comparisons were made in umbilical venous and arterial leptin levels and obstetric variables. Significant determinants of differences in umbilical venous and arterial leptin levels were investigated.
Results: Umbilical venous and arterial leptin levels were higher in the vaginal delivery group (n = 34) than in the cesarean group (n = 30) (P < .01). In the vaginal delivery group, umbilical venous leptin levels were significantly higher than arterial leptin levels (P < .001). These differences were still significant after adjustment for neonatal gender, neonatal birth weight, and placental weight. However, in the cesarean group, leptin levels did not differ between umbilical vein and artery.
Conclusion: Placental leptin release is augumented during advanced labor.
Serum leptin is a circulating hormone that is expressed abundantly in adipose tissue. Leptin plays an important role in the regulation of energy homeostasis and in the neuroendocrine and reproductive systems. Reports indicate that leptin is produced in the placenta and released into fetal and maternal circulation.1–4 Some hormones, including fetal serum sex steroid and glucocorticoid, and lipid levels increase under stress during advanced labor.5–7 These findings suggest that fetal leptin levels may differ between vaginal and elective cesarean deliveries or between umbilical vein and artery.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in umbilical venous and arterial leptin levels by mode of delivery.
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Materials and Methods |
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Umbilical cord blood samples were obtained from the umbilical vein and artery immediately after delivery. Blood samples were separated by centrifugation. The specimens were then stored at -80C until analysis. Measurements of serum leptin levels were made with a commercially available radioimmunoassay kit based on a polyclonal antiserum raised against full-length recombinant human leptin (Linco, St. Charles, MO). The day-to-day variation was monitored by repeated analysis of two quality-control samples provided by the manufacturer, and the interassay coefficients of variation were 3.4 and 6.9% when control samples containing 2.9 and 13.8 ng/mL, respectively, were used.
Informed written consent was obtained in accordance with institutional guidelines. The study also was conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Intergroup and intragroup comparisons were made in umbilical venous and arterial leptin levels and obstetric variables with the use of paired or unpaired Student t test, as appropriate. The 
2 test also was used to assess group differences for categoric variables such as neonatal gender distribution. Significant determinant factors of the differences in umbilical venous and arterial leptin levels were investigated with the use of univariate and multiple regression analysis. On regression analysis, dependent variables were umbilical venous leptin levels, arterial leptin levels, or venous-arterial leptin level differences. Independent variables were neonatal gender, neonatal birth weight, placental weight, and mode of delivery. The strength of correlation was shown by standardized regression coefficient. This is a coefficient similar to Pearson correlation coefficient. Mode of delivery and neonatal gender were nominal variables, so we registered cesarean delivery or male neonate as 1, and vaginal delivery or female neonate as 2. Statistical analyses were performed with a Statview IV statistical package (Abacus Concepts, Berkeley, CA). P < .05 was considered statistically significant. To detect the difference of 1.0 (SD = 1.3) between cesarean and vaginal delivery with 
= 0.05 and ß = 0.20, 30 subjects in each group were required.
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Results |
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presents the obstetric variables of the two groups. Maternal age in the cesarean group (n = 30) was significantly higher than that in the vaginal delivery group (n = 34) (P < .01). Gestational duration and neonatal birth weight were significantly higher in the vaginal delivery group than in the cesarean group (P < .001 and P < .05, respectively), whereas parity was significantly higher in the cesarean group (P < .001). However, no significant differences were observed in maternal weight before pregnancy, height, BMI before pregnancy, weight gain during pregnancy, neonatal gender distribution, or placental weight between the two groups.
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presents the differences in umbilical venous and arterial leptin levels. In all neonates (n = 64), both umbilical venous and arterial leptin levels in the vaginal delivery group (n = 34) were higher than in the cesarean group (n = 30) (P < .01). Umbilical venous leptin levels were significantly higher than arterial leptin levels in the vaginal delivery group (P < .001). No significant differences in venous and arterial leptin levels were observed in the cesarean group (n = 30). Furthermore, we attempted to compare the umbilical leptin levels between the two groups divided by neonatal gender, which is known to influence leptin levels in fetal circulation.2,8,9 In female neonates (n = 32), both umbilical venous and arterial leptin levels in the vaginal delivery group (n = 16) were higher than in the cesarean group (n = 16) (P < .01). Umbilical venous leptin levels were higher than arterial leptin levels (P < .01) in the vaginal delivery group (n = 16). No significant differences in venous and arterial leptin levels were observed in the cesarean group (n = 16).
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Discussion |
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Why does placental leptin release increase during advanced labor? Reasons may include the following. First, placental leptin synthesis is augumented in preeclampsia, probably because of placental hypoxia.12,13 Leptin synthesis in the placenta may be one of the generalized hypoxic responses of trophoblast cells in preeclampsia.12 Unfortunately, we did not measure umbilical arterial or venous blood gas. However, even in normal pregnancy without preeclampsia or placental dysfunction, the fetus is exposed to hypoxia during advanced labor as a result of intermittent uterine contraction. Thus, it is plausible that hypoxia due to uterine contraction may contribute in part to higher umbilical venous and arterial leptin levels in vaginal compared with cesarean deliveries. Second, the major difference between vaginal and cesarean delivery is the degree of fetal exposure to stress. Several studies indicate that the stress of labor increases fetal serum cortisol levels.14–18 Serum cortisol levels are reported to be associated with serum leptin levels in adults,19,20 and cortisol-induced increases in plasma leptin levels are dose-dependent.19 Thus, augumented placental leptin release is attributable in part to increased stress and/or fetal cortisol levels during advanced labor. Third, augumented placental leptin synthesis may be associated with the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and/or increased plasma cytokin levels, because placental leptin synthesis is reported to be stimulated by activations of the protein kinase A and C pathways during advanced labor.21 Thus, the mechanism of increased placental leptin release during advanced labor could be multifactorial.
It remains unclear whether increased placental leptin release during advanced labor is of physiologic significance. It has been suggested that placenta-derived leptin in the umbilical vein regulates fetal development and metabolism.11 Postnatal decrease in plasma leptin levels may be a physiologically feasible adaptation to profound alterations in fuel homeostasis during the first days of extrauterine life.22 Fetuses delivered vaginally are prone to undergo more stress during labor than those delivered by cesarean.6 Thus, leptin may play an important role in fetal adaptation to stress and energy expenditure not only during early neonatal life but also during advanced labor.
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Footnotes |
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Received November 23, 1999. Received in revised form March 7, 2000. Accepted March 16, 2000.
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References |
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2. Schubring C, Kiess W, Englaro P, Rascher W, Dotsch J, Hanitsch S, et al. Levels of leptin in maternal serum, amniotic fluid, and arterial and venous cord blood: Relation to neonatal and placental weight. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1997;82:1480–3.
3. Masuzaki H, Ogawa Y, Sagawa N, Hosoda K, Matsumoto T, Mise H, et al. Non-adipose tissue production of leptin: Leptin as a novel placenta-derived hormone in humans. Nat Med 1997;3:1029–33.[Medline]
4. Senaris R, Garcia-Caballero T, Casabielle X, Gallego R, Castro R, Considine RV, et al. Synthesis of leptin in human placenta. Endocrinology 1997;138:4501–4.
5. Haning RV Jr, Barrett DA, Alberino SP, Lynski MT, Donabedian R, Speroff L. Interrelationships between maternal and cord prolactin, progesterone, estradiol, 13, 14-dihydro- 15-keto-prostaglandin F2alpha, and cord cortisol at delivery with respect to initiation of parturition. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1978;130:204–10.[Medline]
6. Yoshimitsu N, Douchi T, Yamasaki H, Nagata Y, Andoh T, Hatano H. Differences in umbilical serum lipid levels with mode of delivery. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1999;106:144–7.[Medline]
7. Ose L, Iden A, Bakke T, Aarskog D. Neonatal screening for hyperlipidaemia. Postgrad Med 1975;51(Suppl 8):88–92.
8. Tome MA, Lage M, Camina JP, Garcia-Mayor RV, Dieguez C, Casanueva FF. Sex-based differences in serum leptin concentrations from umbilical cord blood at delivery. Eur J Endocrinol 1997;137:655–8.[Abstract]
9. Matsuda J, Yokota I, Iida M, Murakami T, Naito E, Ito M, et al. Serum leptin concentration in cord blood: Relationship to birth weight and gender. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1997;82:1642–4.
10. Yura S, Sagawa N, Mise H, Mori T, Masuzaki H, Ogawa Y, et al. A positive umbilical venous-arterial difference of leptin level and its rapid decline after birth. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1998;178:926–30.[Medline]
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13. Kokot F, Wiecek A, Adamczak M, Ulman I, Spiechowicz U, Cieplok J, et al. Pathophysiological role of leptin in patients with chronic renal failure, in kidney transplant patients, in patients with essential hypertension, and in pregnant women with preeclampsia. Artif Organs 1999;23:70–4.[Medline]
14. Haukkamaa M, Lähteenmäk P. Steroids in human myometrium and maternal and umbilical cord plasma before and during labor. Obstet Gynecol 1979;53:617–22.
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19. Newcomer JW, Selke G, Melson AK, Gross J, Vogler GP, Dagogo-Jack S. Dose-dependent cortisol-induced increases in plasma leptin concentration in healthy humans. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1998;55: 995–1000.
20. Elimam A, Knutsson U, Bronnegard M, Stierna P, Albertsson-Wikland K, Marcus C. Variations in glucocorticoid levels within the physiological range affect plasma leptin levels. Eur J Endocrinol 1998;139:615–20.[Abstract]
21. Yura S, Sagawa N, Ogawa Y, Masuzaki H, Mise H, Matsumoto T, et al. Augumentation of leptin synthesis and secretion through activation of protein kinase A and C in cultured human trophoblastic cells. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1998;83:3609–14.
22. Hytinantti T, Koistinen HA, Koivisto VA, Karonen SL, Andersson S. Changes in leptin concentration during the early postnatal period: Adjustment to extrauterine life? Pediatr Res 1999;45:197–201.[Medline]
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