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The Influence of Overweight and Obesity on Maternal Soluble fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 1 and Its Relationship With Leptin During Pregnancy

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Abstract

We studied obesity-related differences in the relation of maternal levels of leptin to levels of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1), an antiangiogenic protein that influences placentation and risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. In a prospective cohort of 286 gravidas, we measured maternal serum levels of sFlt1 and leptin at 5 time points across pregnancy. Analyses stratified on prepregnancy body mass index (<25 vs ≥25) were done using mixed linear models. The mean leptin concentrations were significantly higher in overweight/obese compared to normal-weight women, while mean sFlt1 levels in second and third trimester were significantly higher in normal weight compared to overweight/obese women. The relationship between sFlt1 and leptin differed between the 2 strata. After controlling for maternal weight, a 1 ng/mL increase in leptin was associated with an 19.4 pg/mL increase in sFlt1 (P = .01) in normal-weight women, while leptin was not associated with sFlt1 (β = 1.1, P = .75) in overweight/obese women. Such differences suggest that metabolic differences in overweight/obese women compared to their normal weight peers may differentially impact the physiologic changes during pregnancy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Division of Population Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA

    Jennifer K. Straughen PhD & Dawn P. Misra PhD

  2. Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA

    Pawan Kumar PhD

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genetic and Metabolic Disorders, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Beaubien Blvd, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA

    Vinod K. Misra MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Jennifer K. Straughen PhD
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  2. Dawn P. Misra PhD
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  3. Pawan Kumar PhD
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  4. Vinod K. Misra MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Vinod K. Misra MD, PhD.

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Straughen, J.K., Misra, D.P., Kumar, P. et al. The Influence of Overweight and Obesity on Maternal Soluble fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 1 and Its Relationship With Leptin During Pregnancy. Reprod. Sci. 20, 269–275 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719112452472

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