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Related Experiment Videos

Fetal proinsulin and birth weight

A Dornhorst1, J S Nicholls, K Ali

  • 1Unit of Metabolic Medicine, St Mary's Hospital Medical School, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, UK.

Diabetic Medicine : a Journal of the British Diabetic Association
|March 1, 1994
PubMed
Summary

Umbilical cord proinsulin is a better indicator of fetal beta-cell activity and infant birth weight than insulin. This finding may be due to proinsulin's longer half-life, making it a more robust marker.

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Area of Science:

  • Perinatal Medicine
  • Endocrinology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Fetal insulin is a key anabolic hormone influencing fetal growth and birth weight.
  • Fetal hyperinsulinism is linked to accelerated growth and higher birth weights.
  • Insulin and C-peptide levels in cord blood and amniotic fluid indicate fetal beta-cell function and correlate with birth weight.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the efficacy of umbilical venous proinsulin and insulin as markers of fetal beta-cell activity.
  • To investigate the correlation between fetal proinsulin/insulin levels and infant birth weight and percentile.
  • To assess the utility of proinsulin as a superior marker compared to insulin in pregnancies with mild glucose tolerance disturbances.

Main Methods:

  • Measurement of umbilical venous proinsulin and insulin concentrations in 54 term infants.

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  • Utilized a highly specific immunoradiometric assay for proinsulin.
  • Employed a non-specific insulin assay for insulin measurement.

    • Main Results:

    • Umbilical venous proinsulin showed a significant independent correlation with infant birth weight (Rho = 0.53, p < 0.0001) and birth percentile (Rho = 0.65, p < 0.0001).
    • The correlation between birth weight/percentile and umbilical venous insulin was diminished after accounting for proinsulin levels.
    • Proinsulin demonstrated a stronger association with birth outcomes than non-specifically measured insulin.

    Conclusions:

    • Umbilical venous proinsulin is a reliable indicator of fetal beta-cell activity.
    • Proinsulin is a superior marker for assessing fetal beta-cell function and its impact on birth weight compared to insulin measured by non-specific assays.
    • Proinsulin's longer half-life may explain its robustness as a marker of overall fetal beta-cell activity.