Comparison between placental gene expression of 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases and infantile growth at 10 months of age.

AIM: The local expression of two isoenzymes of 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, type 1 (11ßHSD-1) and type 2 (11ßHSD-2), regulates the access of glucocorticoid hormones to their target cells. Reports on the association between the placental expression of 11ßHSD and infantile growth are limited. The aim of the present study was to investigate if the placental gene expression of 11ßHSD affects infantile growth at 10 months of age. METHODS: Placentas and umbilical venous cord blood were obtained from 42 singleton cases of cesarean deliveries between 31 and 40 weeks of gestation at Hamamatsu University Hospital between March 2009 and June 2010. The gene expression of both 11ßHSD-1 and 11ßHSD-2 was measured by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Adiponectin and leptin levels in umbilical cord blood were measured using enzyme-linked immunoassay. RESULTS: 11ßHSD-1 and 11ßHSD-2 gene expression in human placentas did not correlate with bodyweight or the ponderal index (PI) at 10 months of age, whereas the gene expression of 11ßHSD-1, but not 11ßHSD-2, correlated with birthweight as well as PI at birth. Adiponectin levels in umbilical cord blood significantly correlated with the placental gene expression of 11ßHSD-1 as well as bodyweight and PI at 10 months of age, although no direct correlation was observed between them. CONCLUSION: No direct correlation was observed between the placental gene expression of 11ßHSD and infantile growth at 10 months of age. However, the placental gene expression of 11ßHSD-1 may be indirectly connected with infantile growth via adiponectin-associated metabolic regulation represented by adiponectin levels in umbilical cord blood.