A longitudinal study of free leptin index in pre-eclamptic pregnancies

Garcés, María Fernanda; Buell-Acosta, Julieth Daniela; Rodríguez-Navarro, Haiver Antonio; Páez-Leal, María Carolina; Maldonado-Acosta, Luis Miguel; Peralta-Franco, Jhon Jairo; Burgos-Cardenas, Álvaro Javier; Ángel-Müller, Edith; Parada-Baños, Arturo José; Parra-Pineda, Mario Orlando; Eslava-Schmalbach, Javier; Escobar-Sarmiento, Camilo Andrés; Lacunza, Ezequiel; Caminos-Cepeda, Sofia Alexandra; Castaño, Justo P.; Nogueiras, Ruben; Dieguez, Carlos; Ruiz-Parra, Ariel Iván; Caminos, Jorge Eduardo

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcmm.17707

A longitudinal study of free leptin index in pre-eclamptic pregnancies

Citation

Garcés MF, Buell-Acosta JD, Rodríguez-Navarro HA, Páez-Leal MC, Maldonado-Acosta LM, Peralta-Franco JJ, Burgos-Cardenas ÁJ, Ángel-Müller E, Parada-Baños AJ, Parra-Pineda MO, Eslava-Schmalbach J, Escobar-Sarmiento CA, Lacunza E, Caminos-Cepeda SA, Castaño JP, Nogueiras R, Dieguez C, Ruiz-Parra AI, Caminos JE. A longitudinal study of free leptin index in pre-eclamptic pregnancies. J Cell Mol Med. 2023;27(8):1083-94. DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.17707

Abstract

The ratio between circulating levels of leptin and soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R), the free leptin index (FLI), is used as a marker of leptin resistance. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate the FLI in mild pre-eclamptic pregnancies in a nested case-control study within a prospective observational study. Circulating levels of leptin and sOB-R levels rise significantly during pregnancy in healthy (p < 0.05) (n = 46) and pre-eclamptic pregnancies (p < 0.05) (n = 20). Serum levels of leptin were significantly higher in pre-eclamptic compared to healthy pregnancies at second and third trimesters of pregnancy (p < 0.05). Additionally, serum levels of sOB-R were significantly lower in pre-eclamptic pregnancies during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy compared to healthy pregnancies (p < 0.05). Moreover, we found that FLI did not vary significantly during pregnancy in healthy women (p > 0.05), while it increases in pre-eclamptic pregnancies (p < 0.05). Indeed, FLI was significantly higher at second and third trimesters of pregnancy in pre-eclamptic compared to healthy pregnancies (p < 0.05). In addition, FLI was significantly higher in the luteal phase compared with the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle in eumenorrheic women (p < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed the ability of leptin (AUC = 0.72) and FLI (AUC = 0.67) as a reliable predictor for mild pre-eclampsia during the second trimester of pregnancy. In conclusion, our findings show that FLI were significantly increased in mild pre-eclamptic pregnancies and allowed us to hypothesize that this rise might alter leptin bioavailability and bioactivity which might lead to the sympathetic hyperactivity and the hypertensive disorders during pregnancy.