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Neopterin Concentration in Umbilical Cord Blood as a Reflection of Maternal Insulin Resistance—A Pilot Study
Background/Objective: Insulin resistance (IR) during pregnancy, even in women with normal body mass index (BMI), may affect maternal and fetal metabolic and immune status. This study aimed to evaluate neopterin (NPT), leptin, insulin, and ghrelin concentrations in maternal blood (MB) and umbilical cord blood (CB) in normoglycemic women with and without IR, all with normal BMI. Methods: Peripheral and cord blood was collected from 36 Caucasian women with term, uncomplicated vaginal deliveries. The participants were classified into control (n = 16; age = 30.81 ± 4.875 years) and IR (n = 20; age = 31.95 ± 4.979 years) groups based on a professional medical diagnosis. Anthropometric parameters were recorded, and metabolic/hormonal markers were measured using ELISA and RIA. Results: NPT concentrations in CB were significantly higher in the IR group (p < 0.05), correlated positively with MB NPT levels (r = 0.3809, p < 0.05). A significantly higher concentration of both insulin and leptin was observed in the MB of women with IR compared to the control group (p < 0.0001), whereas in CB, only insulin concentration was significantly higher in the IR group than in healthy controls (p < 0.05). Ghrelin levels did not differ between the groups. Conclusions: Insulin resistance in non-obese pregnant women is associated with increased NPT concentration in CB, which may suggest fetal immune activation. However, defining the role of NTP as a metabolic “messenger” between mother and child requires further study.
Cord Blood Spexin Level in Mothers with Obesity—Forecast of Future Obesity?
Spexin (SPX) is a peptide that plays an important role in the regulation of food intake and body weight (BW) by the effect on carbohydrate-lipid metabolism. However, the role of SPX in fetal life, in children, and in adolescent metabolism is limited. Therefore, we decided to check whether obesity affects the concentration of SPX in the mother’s peripheral blood (MB) and umbilical cord blood (UCB). Using MB and UCB sera on the day of delivery obtained from 48 women (24 non-obese and 24 obese) and commercially available Elisa kits and colorimetric assays, we determined changes in SPX and the relationship between SPX concentration and other metabolic and anthropometric markers (body weight and BMI) on the day of delivery and in children at the age of 36 months. We found lower concentrations of SPX in MB (p < 0.05) and UCB (p < 0.01) derived from obese women (BMI > 30) and a moderate linear correlation (r = 0.4429; p < 0.01) between SPX concentrations in MB and UCB. We also noted that the concentration of SPX is not correlated with the child’s body weight on the day of birth (r = −0.0128). However, there is a relationship between SPX at birth and body weight at 3 years of age (r = −0.3219; p < 0.05). Based on the obtained results, it can be assumed that spexin is one of the factors modulating the child’s metabolism already in the fetal period and can be considered a potential marker of future predisposition to obesity. However, confirmation of this thesis requires additional research.