We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




Maternal B12 Deficiency Predisposes Diabetes in Offspring

By Daniel Beris
Posted on 17 Nov 2016
Print article
Vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy may predispose children to metabolic problems such as type-2 diabetes, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Warwick (Coventry, United Kingdom) and George Eliot Hospital (GEH; Nuneaton, United Kingdom) hypothesized that maternal B12 might program leptin levels in-utero, and therefore decided to investigate the potential association between maternal B12 and leptin in maternal adipose tissue, placental tissue, and cord blood. To do so, they paired 91 maternal venous and cord blood, 42 adipose tissue, and 83 placental tissue samples collected at delivery.

The results showed that B12 deficiency was common, at about 40% in mothers and 29% in neonates. Upon analysis, maternal B12 was independently associated with neonatal leptin, which was higher in adipose tissue and placental tissue from mothers with low B12. They concluded that maternal B12 deficiency adversely programs the leptin gene, changing levels at which the hormone is produced whilst the fetus grows. The study was presented at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference, held during November 2016 in Brighton (United Kingdom).

“The leptin can increase for two reasons; either low B12 drives fat accumulation in the fetus, and this leads to increased leptin, or the low B12 actually causes chemical changes in the placental genes that produce leptin, making more of the hormone,” said lead author Adaikala Antonysunil, PhD, of the University of Warwick. “As B12 is involved in methylation reactions in the body which can affect whether genes are turned on and off, we suspect it may be the latter.”

“The nutritional environment provided by the mother can permanently program the baby’s health,” added senior author Ponusammy Saravanan, PhD, of the University of Warwick and GEH. “We know that children born to under or over nourished mothers are at an increased risk of health problems such as type-2 diabetes, and we also see that maternal B12 deficiency may affect fat metabolism and contribute to this risk. This is why we decided to investigate leptin, the fat cell hormone.”

Leptin is a hormone made which regulates the amount of fat stored in the body by adjusting both the sensation of hunger and energy expenditures. Hunger is inhibited when the amount of fat stored reaches a certain level, causing satiety. Leptin is then secreted and circulates through the body, eventually activating leptin receptors in the arcuate nucleus. Energy expenditure is then increased both by the signal to the brain, and directly via leptin receptors on peripheral targets.

Related Links:
University of Warwick
George Eliot Hospital
Gold Member
POC Blood Gas Analyzer
Stat Profile Prime Plus
Gold Member
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Sample-To-Answer Test
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Cartridge (CE-IVD)
Silver Member
Wireless Mobile ECG Recorder
NR-1207-3/NR-1207-E
New
Vibrating Mesh Nebulizer
Aerogen Solo

Print article

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
Image: The permeable wearable electronics developed for long-term biosignal monitoring (Photo courtesy of CityUHK)

Super Permeable Wearable Electronics Enable Long-Term Biosignal Monitoring

Wearable electronics have become integral to enhancing health and fitness by offering continuous tracking of physiological signals over extended periods. This monitoring is crucial for understanding an... Read more

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: NTT and Olympus have begun the world\'s first joint demonstration experiment of a cloud endoscopy system (Photo courtesy of Olympus)

Cloud Endoscopy System Enables Real-Time Image Processing on the Cloud

Endoscopes, which are flexible tubes inserted into the body's natural openings for internal examination and biopsy collection, are becoming increasingly vital in medical diagnostics. Their minimal invasiveness... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The PATHFAST hs-cTnI-II high-sensitivity troponin assay has been developed for the PATHFAST Biomarker Analyzer (Photo courtesy of Polymedco)

POC Myocardial Infarction Test Delivers Results in 17 Minutes

Chest pain is the second leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits by adults in the United States, generating over 7 million visits annually. In the event of a suspected heart attack, physicians... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.