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Published on: June 29, 2013
Metabolomic Research on Newborn Infants With Intrauterine Growth Restriction
Jing Liu1, Xin-Xin Chen, Xiang-Wen Li
1From the Department of Neonatology and NICU of Bayi Children's Hospital, The Army General Hospital of the Chinese PLA (JL, X-XC, X-WL, WF, W-QZ); Graduate School, The Chinese PLA Medical College (X-XC), Beijing; and Graduate School, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou (WF), China.
Insights
Newborns with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) show significant amino acid and acylcarnitine metabolism abnormalities, particularly those with low birth weight. These metabolic changes tend to normalize as birth weight increases.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Neonatalogy
- Metabolomics
Background:
- Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with altered fetal development and potential long-term health issues.
- Understanding the metabolic profile of IUGR newborns is crucial for identifying underlying mechanisms of tissue damage and guiding clinical interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare metabolite differences between newborns with IUGR and those appropriate for gestational age (AGA).
- To elucidate the metabolic mechanisms contributing to tissue and organ damage in IUGR.
- To provide a basis for effective clinical interventions in IUGR cases.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed 21 amino acids and 55 carnitines in peripheral blood of 60 IUGR and 60 AGA newborns.
- Assessed ratios of free carnitine and acylcarnitine to total carnitine.
- Compared metabolite profiles based on birth weight percentiles and gestational age.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in amino acids (e.g., alanine, homocysteine, leucine) and acylcarnitines (e.g., isovaleryl, eicosenoyl) were observed in IUGR newborns, especially those below the 3rd percentile birth weight.
- Metabolite profiles varied with gestational age and sex in IUGR infants.
- Compensatory increases or reductions in amino acids and acylcarnitines were noted with increasing birth weight, with IUGR infants resembling AGA infants at the 10th percentile.
Conclusions:
- IUGR infants exhibit distinct amino acid and acylcarnitine metabolic abnormalities.
- Metabolic profiles are influenced by birth weight, gestational age, and sex in IUGR.
- These findings support the need for targeted metabolic monitoring and intervention strategies for IUGR newborns.
Abstract:
To compare differences in metabolites between newborns with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and those who are appropriate for gestational age (AGA) in order to understand the changes in metabolites of newborns with IUGR and to explore the possible metabolic mechanism of tissue and organ damages in patients with IUGR, with the ultimate goal of providing the basis for clinical intervention.A total of 60 newborns with IUGR and 60 AGA newborns who were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit of our hospital between January 2011 and December 2015 and who underwent metabolic disease screening were enrolled in this study. The differences in 21 amino acids and 55 carnitines in peripheral blood, as well as changes in the ratios of free carnitine and acylcarnitine to total carnitine, were compared.Metabolites, particularly alanine, homocysteine, leucine, methionine, ornithine, serine, tyrosine, isovaleryl carnitine, and eicosenoyl carnitine, differed according to newborns' birth weight (<3rd percentile, 3rd-5th percentiles, 5th-10th percentiles, and 10th-90th percentiles), with those with lower birth weight showing the greater difference (P < 0.05). Metabolites also differed by gestational age, and the differences observed were mainly as follows: preterm and full-term newborns showed differences in metabolites, mainly in alanine, proline, cerotoyl carnitine, and tetradecanedioyl carnitine (P < 0.05); preterm and full-term AGA newborns showed differences in metabolites, mainly in alanine, glutamine, homocysteine, pipecolic acid, proline, heptanoyl carnitine, and sebacoyl carnitine (P < 0.05); and preterm and full-term newborns with IUGR showed differences in metabolites, mainly in arginine, glutamic acid, homocysteine, histidine, leucine, isoleucine, ornithine, serine, threonine, tryptophan, valine, heptanoyl carnitine, decanoyl carnitine, linoleyl carnitine, methylmalonyl carnitine, glutarylcarnitine, sebacoyl carnitine, hydroxyacetyl carnitine, and hydroxyhexadecancenyl carnitine (P < 0.05). Among newborns with IUGR, metabolites differed among males and females, mainly in aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and hexacosenoic acid (P < 0.05). Birth weight had no significant effects on free carnitine concentration or on the ratios of free carnitine and acylcarnitine to total carnitine (P < 0.05).IUGR infants exhibit significant abnormalities in amino acid and acylcarnitine metabolism, especially those with birth weight below the third percentile. With increasing birth weight, amino acids and acylcarnitines showed compensatory increases or reductions, and when birth weight reached the 10th percentile, the newborns with IUGR resembled the AGA newborns.
