Schrey-Petersen Susanne, Bäumer Saskia, Lössner Ulrike, Stepan Holger
Department of Obstetrics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Department of Internal Medicine III, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
J Endocr Soc. 2019 Dec 21;4(4):bvz031. doi: 10.1210/jendso/bvz031. eCollection 2020 Apr 1.
The fetal period has a critical and long-lasting impact on the regulation of metabolic processes and a life-long predisposition for obesity and metabolic syndrome. The exact mechanisms are unknown, but epigenetic regulation likely plays a major role. Twins represent an excellent model to study these mechanisms, as they share the same intrauterine environment and similar or even the same genetic information. We examined cord blood levels of adipocyte fatty-acid binding protein 4 (A-FABP or FABP4), a novel adipokine correlated with obesity and metabolic disease in children and adults.
To examine A-FABP levels in the cord blood of twins with concordant and discordant growth and in singletons with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).
Cohort study of 36 twin pairs (25 growth concordant and 11 growth discordant), and 42 singleton pregnancies (28 IUGR and 13 normally grown controls, 1 HELLP).
Cord blood A-FABP levels measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
A-FABP levels were higher in the smaller of growth discordant dichorionic (DC) twins versus their co-twins (109.46 ± 62.80 ng/mL vs. 72.93 ± 36.66 ng/mL, = 0.028). A-FABP was negatively correlated with birth weight and gestational age ( < 0.001), but not with birth weight z-score ( = 0.37).
Increased A-FABP levels might be associated with an increased metabolic risk in growth-restricted (twins) and prematurely born infants.
胎儿期对代谢过程的调节具有关键且持久的影响，并会导致终身肥胖和代谢综合征易感性。确切机制尚不清楚，但表观遗传调控可能起主要作用。双胞胎是研究这些机制的理想模型，因为他们共享相同的子宫内环境和相似甚至相同的遗传信息。我们检测了脐血中脂肪细胞脂肪酸结合蛋白4（A-FABP或FABP4）的水平，这是一种与儿童和成人肥胖及代谢疾病相关的新型脂肪因子。
检测生长一致和不一致的双胞胎以及患有宫内生长受限（IUGR）的单胎婴儿脐血中A-FABP的水平。
对36对双胞胎（25对生长一致和11对生长不一致）以及42例单胎妊娠（28例IUGR和13例正常生长对照，1例HELLP综合征）进行队列研究。
采用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）法检测脐血A-FABP水平。
生长不一致的双绒毛膜（DC）双胞胎中较小的婴儿其A-FABP水平高于其同胞（109.46±62.80 ng/mL对72.93±36.66 ng/mL，P=0.028）。A-FABP与出生体重和孕周呈负相关（P<0.001），但与出生体重Z评分无关（P=0.37）。
A-FABP水平升高可能与生长受限（双胞胎）和早产婴儿代谢风险增加有关。
