HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Castracane, V. D. Articles by Henson, M. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Castracane, V. D. Articles by Henson, M. C.

---

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Serum Leptin in Nonpregnant and Pregnant Women and in Old and New World Nonhuman Primates

V. Daniel Castracane^*,1, Andrew G. Hendrickx and Michael C. Henson^,2

^* Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, Texas 79106; California National Primate Research Center, University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616; and Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Physiology, and Structural and Cellular Biology, and the Tulane National Primate Research Center, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112

To whom requests for reprints should be addressed at ² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (SL-11), Tulane University Health Sciences Center, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112. E-mail: henson{at}tulane.edu

Leptin is a hormone that is produced during mammalian pregnancy in the placental trophoblast and other tissues, including! fetal and maternal adipocytes. Synthesis of the polypeptide and the presence of its specific receptors throughout the human maternal fetoplacental unit suggest direct effects on conceptus growth and development. However, both the physiologic roles of leptin and the mechanisms regulating leptin synthesis in human pregnancy differ from those in laboratory and domestic species, necessitating the development of non-human primate research models. Therefore, we compared serum leptin concentrations in nonpregnant and pregnant women with those in both old world nonhuman primates (i.e., baboon, rhesus monkey, cynomolgus monkey) and new world nonhuman primates (i.e., squirrel monkey, titi monkey). As expected, maternal leptin levels were elevated in human and baboon pregnancies (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively). Levels in both species of old world monkeys were also greatly enhanced (P < 0.001). Although maternal serum concentrations were slightly elevated compared to nonpregnant levels in both species of new world monkeys, overall concentrations were dramatically lower than for either old world primates or humans. Results provide comparisons of serum leptin concentrations in pregnant and nonpregnant humans and baboons with those in both old and new world monkeys and further characterize these nonhuman primates as models for the investigation of leptin dynamics in pregnancy.

Key Words: leptin • pregnancy • old world primates • new world primates

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. C. Henson and V. D. Castracane Leptin in Pregnancy: An Update Biol Reprod, February 1, 2006; 74(2): 218 - 229. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]