RESUMEN
Background: Birth weight is of importance due to its relation to fetal health, and it's also a predictor of the subsequent development of the child. Objective: This study aims to assess whether betaine is associated with poor fetal growth. Design: A case-control study was used in this study. Setting: The study took place at the Chongqing Maternal and Child Health Hospital, in Chong Qing, China. Participants: A total of 141mother-infant pairs were recruited from the Department of Obstetrics of our hospital between June 2021 and December 2021. According to gestational age and birth weight, themother-infant pairs were divided into small-for-gestational-age and appropriate-for-gestational-age groups. Primary Outcome Measures: Cord plasma concentrations of betaine were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Plasma levels of triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol were determined using commercially available assays on an automatic biochemical analyzer (BS-240 VET, Mindray Medical, Shenzhen, China) using reagent from Mindray Medical company. Results: Cord plasma betaine concentrations were higher in small-for-gestational-age relative to appropriate-for-gestational-age newborns, and were not correlated to lipid levels. Adjusting for maternal and neonatal characteristics, birth weight and birth length were negatively correlated with the levels of betaine. Higher betaine concentrations were associated with increased risks of small-for-gestational-age. Conclusions: Elevated cord blood betaine concentration was independently associated with a higher risk of small-for-gestational-age infants, suggesting that betaine dysregulation may be a risk factor for impaired fetal growth.
RESUMEN
In recent years, central precocious puberty (CPP) in children is becoming more common, which seriously affects their physical and psychological health and requires finding a safe and effective treatment method. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of melatonin on CPP. A CPP model was established by subcutaneous injection of 300 micrograms of danazol into 5-day-old female mice, followed by treatment with melatonin and leuprolide. The vaginal opening was checked daily. Mice were weighed, gonads were weighed, gonadal index was calculated, and gonadal development was observed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. Serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol (E2) levels were measured by ELISA. By using RT-PCR and Western blotting, the mRNA and protein expression of the hypothalamus Kiss-1, Kiss-1 receptor (Kiss1R), gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), and pituitary GnRH receptor (GnRHR) were identified. The results showed that melatonin delayed vaginal opening time and reduced body weight, gonadal weight and indices in female CPP mice. Melatonin treatment prevents uterine wall thickening and ovarian luteinization in female CPP mice. Melatonin treatment reduces serum concentrations of FSH, LH, and E2 in female CPP mice. Melatonin suppressed the expressions of Kiss-1, Kiss1R and GnRH in the hypothalamus, and the expression of GnRHR in the pituitary of the female CPP mice. Our results suggest that melatonin can inhibit the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis by down-regulating the Kiss-1/Kiss1R system, thereby treating CPP in female mice.