Received on March 30, 2006
Accepted on August 15, 2006

Pediatric Clinical Chemistry

Adiponectin and Leptin in Maternal Serum, Cord Blood, and Breast Milk

¹ Division of Clinical Epidemiology and Aging Research, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
² Numico Research, Friedrichsdorf, Germany

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: m.weyermann{at}dkfz-heidelberg.de.

Background:The presence of the adipokines adiponectin and leptin in cord blood and placental and fetal tissues suggests a possible role in fetal development.

Methods:We measured concentrations of adiponectin and leptin in maternal serum, cord blood, and breast milk and examined their correlations within a large, population-based study. Between November 2000 and November 2001, we recruited all mothers and their newborns after delivery at the University of Ulm (Ulm, Germany). The current analysis included 766 mothers with available breast milk samples collected 6 weeks postpartum. Adipokine concentrations were measured with commercially available ELISAs (R&D Systems).

Results:Median adiponectin concentrations in maternal serum (n = 713), cord blood (n = 709), and breast milk (n = 766) were 8.6 mg/L, 30.6 mg/L, and 10.9 g/L, respectively. Median leptin concentrations were 12.8 µg/L in maternal serum, 7.8 µg/L in cord blood, and 174.5 ng/L in . Whereas increases in leptin concentrations with increasing birth weight, birth weight according to gestational age, and ponderal index were statistically significant in cord blood (all P values <0.0001), cord blood adiponectin was clearly related only to birth weight (P = 0.0004). Concentrations of both adipokines were moderately correlated in breast milk and maternal serum (both Spearman values were 0.43; P <0.0001). In cord blood, adiponectin concentrations showed no correlations and leptin concentrations showed weak positive correlations.

Conclusions:Concentrations of adiponectin and leptin vary strongly in maternal serum, cord blood, and breast milk, with only moderate correlations between both adipokines in maternal serum and breast milk. The health implications of these patterns warrant further investigation.