Cord blood concentrations of leptin, zinc-α2-glycoprotein, and adiponectin, and adiposity gain during the first 3 mo of life

Abstract Objectives Adipose tissue development starts in intrauterine life and cytokines are involved in this process. Therefore, understanding the role of cytokines in the fat mass gain of infants is crucial to prevent obesity later in life. Furthermore, recent evidence indicates a sex-specific link between cytokines and adipose tissue development. The objective of this study was to assess sex-specific relationships of cord blood concentrations of the cytokines leptin, zinc-α2-glycoprotein (ZAG), and adiponectin with infant adiposity during the first 3 mo of life. Methods This was a prospective cohort study of 104 mother-infant pairs that were selected from a maternity hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Cord blood leptin, ZAG, and adiponectin were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The body composition of the infants was assessed monthly by air displacement plethysmography. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted with the average fat mass gain from birth to the third month of life as the outcome and cord blood leptin, ZAG, and adiponectin as the variables of interest. Results Leptin was inversely associated with fat mass gain in the first 3 mo of life ( P  = 0.003; adjusted R 2  = 0.09). There were inverse associations of leptin ( P  = 0.021), ZAG ( P  = 0.042), and maternal body mass index ( P  = 0.04) with fat mass gain in girls (adjusted R 2  = 0.29) but fat mass gain in boys was positively associated with gestational age ( P  = 0.01; adjusted R 2  = 0.15). Conclusions The results of this study suggest that adiposity programming is sex-specific, which highlights the need to investigate the different metabolic mechanisms that are involved in adipogenesis.