Association Of Plasma Obestatin Levels With Lipid Metabolism And Blood Pressure In Normal Pregnancy Women

Objective:Obestatin is a recently discovered 23-amino acid peptide and its physiological function is still not clear. In animal experiments, it was found that obestatin was able to reduce food intake and body weight gain, inhibiting thirst, and inducing sleep. It has been reported that there was a significant positive correlation between plasma obestatin concentration and mean arterial pressure in normal pregnant women and pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). The aims of this study was to investigate the changes of plasma obestatin level, total serum cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, blood pressure, hemoglobin content, white blood cells count, pregnancy body mass index and body mass index of the added value, infant birth weight and placental weight of normal pregnancies and provide insights into the association of obestatin with lipid metabolism and blood pressure in normal pregnant women.Methods:Seventy-two cases of normal pregnant women whose prenatal check file had been established at 12 weeks of gestational age were enrolled in this study and regular inspections can be performed in all cases. According to the different gestational age, they were divided into four groups. GroupⅠ(12-16 weeks, n=18) and GroupⅡ(20-24 weeks, n=18) was of mid-pregnancies, GroupⅢwas (28-32 weeks, n=18) and GroupⅣ(36-40weeks, n=18) was of late pregnancies. At the same period,17 cases of pregnant women in early gestational age (6th-9th week) were included in Group 0 as control.Blood samples were obtained from the antecubital vein in the morning between 8:00 and 9:00 AM after an overnight fasting (10-12h). Blood pressure and body weight were measured at the time of blood sampling. The levels of plasma obestatin, total serum cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and blood pressure, hemoglobin content, white blood cells count were measured. Association of obestatin with lipid metabolism and blood pressure was analyzed.Results:(1) Plasma obestatin concentrations:The plasma obestarin level was lower significantly in late pregnancies than in early and mid-term pregnancies (p< 0.05). The values of plasma obestatin concentration were 57.35±7.04 pg/ml,57.28±7.44pg/ml,52.06±9.21 pg/ml,45.44±8.15 pg/ml and 37.50±8.09 pg/ml respectively in Group 0, GroupⅠ,GroupⅡ, GroupⅢand GroupⅣ.(2) Correlation between blood lipid and plasma obestatin concentration:In GroupⅢ, plasma obestatin level was negatively correlated with total serum cholesterol, triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein (r=-0.530,r=-0.400,r=-0.450,p≤0.05). There was a positively correlation between plasma obestatin and low-density lipoprotein levels in GroupⅣ(r=0.438, p<0.05)(3) Correlation between plasma obestatin concentration and blood pressure: Plasma obestatin level was negatively correlated with diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure in GroupⅠ(r=-0.515,r=-0.415;p<0.05). Plasma obestatin level was positively correlated with diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure in GroupⅢ(r=0.764, r=0.729;p<0.01).There was a strong positive correlation between plasma obestatin level and systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial blood pressure in GroupⅣ(r=0.713,r=0.810,r=0.862;p <0.01).(4) There was on correlation between plasma obestatin level and BMI,BMI value-added, white blood cells count and hemoglobin content in all groups. Plasma obestatin level was not correlated with infant birth weight and placental weight in GroupⅡ, GroupⅢand GroupⅣ.Conclusions:(1) With advancing of gestational age, plasma obestatin level decreased gradually.(2) Plasma obestatin level was correlated with lipid metabolism in late pregnancies. It appeared to have a potential effect on the control of lipid metabolism. (3) Plasma obestatin level of late pregnancies was correlated better with blood pressure. It appeared to have a potential role on keeping stability of normal blood pressure.