Tumor necrosis factor‐alpha levels in blood cord is directly correlated with the body weight of mothers

• Published in: Obesity science & practice Vol. 2; no. 2; pp. 210 - 214
• Main Authors: Toledo Baldi, E., Dias Bóbbo, V. C., Melo Lima, M. H., Velloso, L. A., Pereira de Araujo, E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-06-2016; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Age; Biomarkers; Birth; Body mass index; Body weight; Cord blood; Epidemiology; Inflammation; Insulin resistance; Metabolic disorders; Monocyte chemoattractant protein; Monocytes; Morbidity; Obesity; Offspring; Original; Overweight; Public health; Transforming growth factor-b; Tumor necrosis factor; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Tumors; tumour necrosis factor alpha; Umbilical cord; Womens health; United States > US; offspring; Inflammation; tumour necrosis factor alpha; obesity
• ISSN: 2055-2238; 2055-2238
• DOI: 10.1002/osp4.47

Summary
Background
Obesity has emerged as major public health problem leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Epidemiological studies indicate that in many regions of the world, children and teenagers are increasingly affected by obesity, which contributes for a pessimistic projection for the near future. Maternal obesity has been implicated in metabolic disorders of the offspring, but there are no biological markers that can be detected early on life that predict the development of obesity in the offspring.
Objective
To evaluate the expression of inflammatory markers in the umbilical cord blood of babies of mothers with obesity/overweight, and correlate these markers with the body weight at age 9 months.
Methods
Anthropometric data of mothers and babies were obtained during prenatal evaluation, at birth and 9 months after birth. Cord blood was collected during delivery of 54 babies from mothers with obesity/overweight and of 50 babies from lean mothers. Tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), transforming growth factor 1 beta, monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 and 2 (MCP‐1/MCP‐2) were determined in serum samples using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay methods. Correlations were evaluated using the Spearman correlation coefficient, and comparisons were evaluated using the non‐parametric Mann–Whitney U‐test.
Results
Cord blood TNF‐α was positively correlated with maternal body mass index. There was an inverse correlation between cord blood transforming growth factor 1 beta and baby body weight at birth. There was no biological marker that predicted body weight at age 9 months.
Conclusion
Although we have not found a biological marker to predict increased body weight at 9 months of age, the study shows that maternal obesity exposes the baby to higher TNF‐α level in the early stages of life, and this can affect metabolic and inflammatory parameters during adulthood.