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Ghrelin Concentration in Cord and Neonatal Blood: Relation to Fetal Growth and Energy Balance

Department of Pediatrics, University of Tokushima School of Medicine (S.K., I.Y., Y.Ko., J.M., E.N., M.I., Y.Ku.), Tokushima 770-8503, Japan; and Department of Biochemistry, National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute (H.H., K.K.), Osaka 565-8565, Japan

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Ichiro Yokota, M.D., Department of Pediatrics, University of Tokushima School of Medicine, 3-Kuramoto cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan. E-mail: yichiro{at}clin.med.tokushima-u.ac.jp.

To investigate the relationship between ghrelin and both fetal and neonatal growth parameters and energy balance, we measured plasma ghrelin concentrations in 54 cord blood samples (male, n = 34; female, n = 20; gestational age, 37.0–41.6 wk; birth weight, 2206–4326 g) and 47 neonatal blood samples (male, n = 27; female, n = 20; postnatal d 3–8). The plasma ghrelin concentrations in cord blood ranged from 110.6–446.1 pmol/liter (median, 206.7 pmol/liter), which were equal to or higher than those in normal weight adults. These values were inversely correlated with birth weight (r = -0.40; P = 0.002), birth length (r = -0.36; P = 0.007), placental weight (r = -0.35; P = 0.01), and IGF-I concentration (r = -0.49; P = 0.0002), but were not significantly correlated with the GH concentration (r = 0.22; P = 0.12). The ghrelin concentrations in small for gestational age newborn were significantly higher than those in appropriate for gestational age newborns (P = 0.0008). The ghrelin concentrations in the vein were significantly higher than those in the artery in 8 cord blood samples (P = 0.01), which suggests that the placenta is an important source of fetal ghrelin. In neonates, the ghrelin concentrations ranged from 133.0–481.7 pmol/liter (median, 268.3 pmol/liter), which were significantly higher than those in cord blood (P < 0.0001). These results suggest that ghrelin may contribute to fetal and neonatal growth.

This work was supported in part by a grant from the Foundation for Growth Science (Tokyo, Japan).

Abbreviations: AGA, Appropriate for gestational age; IRI, immunoreactive insulin; LGA, large for gestational age; SGA, small for gestational age.

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