ArticleThe Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism2021
Pregnancy-specific Adaptations in Leptin and Melanocortin Neuropeptides in Early Human Gestation.
Article in The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reduced melanocortin tone modulates feeding during pregnancy in mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Maternal Determinants of Human Milk Leptin and Their Associations with Neonatal Growth Parameters.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Neuroendocrine crosstalk between sex and metabolic hormones: mechanisms and implications across the female reproductive spectrum.Discover endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Review
- Adiponectin and leptin levels in mothers, fetuses, and neonates with intrauterine growth restriction compared to those with appropriate gestational age.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Article
- Consideration of hormonal changes for orthodontic treatment during pregnancy and lactation - a review.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2024Review
- Article
- Real-world experience with weight gain among pregnant women living with HIV who are using integrase inhibitors.HIV medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionPregnancy is characterized by increased appetitive drive beginning early in gestation, yet the central mechanisms underlying this adaptation are poorly understood in humans. To elucidate central mechanisms underlying appetite regulation in early pregnancy, we examine plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leptin and Agouti-related peptide (AgRP) as well as CSF proopiomelanocortin (POMC) as surrogates for brain melanocortin activity.
methodsPlasma leptin, soluble leptin receptor, AgRP, and CSF leptin, POMC, and AgRP were collected from pregnant women before cerclage placement (16.6 ± 1.1 weeks; N = 24), scheduled cesarean section (39.2 ± 0.2 weeks; N = 24), and from nonpregnant controls (N = 24), matched for age and body mass index.
resultsPlasma leptin was 1.5 times higher in pregnancy vs controls (P = 0.01), but CSF leptin did not differ. CSF/plasma leptin percentage was lower in early pregnancy vs controls (0.8 ± 0.1 vs 1.7 ± 0.2; P < 0.0001) and remained unchanged at term (0.9 ± 0.1), supporting a decrease in leptin transport into CSF in pregnancy. Plasma AgRP, a peripheral biomarker of the orexigenic hypothalamic neuropeptide, was higher in early pregnancy vs controls (95.0 ± 7.8 vs 67.5 ± 5.3; P = 0.005). In early gestation, CSF AgRP did not differ from controls, but CSF POMC was 25% lower (P = 0.006). In contrast, at term, CSF AgRP was 42% higher vs controls (P = 0.0001), but CSF POMC no longer differed. Overall, the CSF AgRP/POMC ratio was 1.5-fold higher in early pregnancy vs controls, reflecting a decrease in melanocortin tone favoring appetitive drive.
conclusionsPregnancy-specific adaptions in the central regulation of energy balance occur early in human gestation and are consistent with decreased leptin transport into brain and resistance to the effects of leptin on target melanocortin neuropeptides.
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Registered trials
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