Cord serum gamma glutamyltransferase in newborns

In utero exposure to parabens and early childhood BMI z-scores – Associations between placental ethyl paraben, longitudinal BMI trajectories and cord blood metabolic biomarkers

“…There is only sparse literature about fetal GGT which may serve different functions. Cord sera were shown to contain a significantly greater (p < 0.001) proportion of HDL-bound-GGT (68.5 ± 5.5%) than adult sera (59.8 ± 10.2%) ( Garcia et al, 1987 ). Fetal GGT reflects hepatic immaturity, sex of the neonate, gestational age, route of delivery, and perinatal stress ( Garcia et al, 1987 , Rivera et al, 1990 ).…”

“…Cord sera were shown to contain a significantly greater (p < 0.001) proportion of HDL-bound-GGT (68.5 ± 5.5%) than adult sera (59.8 ± 10.2%) ( Garcia et al, 1987 ). Fetal GGT reflects hepatic immaturity, sex of the neonate, gestational age, route of delivery, and perinatal stress ( Garcia et al, 1987 , Rivera et al, 1990 ). Different but not yet fully elucidated functions and characteristics of fetal GGT may explain the observed shift in the direction of the association between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and cord GGT activity.…”

Fetal Liver Function Tests: Umbilical Cord Gamma-Glutamyltransferase as a Marker for Fetal Abnormality

“…Garcia et al [8] found high enzy matic activity in cord sera taken from new borns at the time of delivery. They suggested that this increased activity in the fetus was due to hepatic immaturity.…”

Analysis of Serum γ‐Glutamyl Transferase Levels in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Patients

“…We found serum GGT levels for preterm and term newborn infants were significantly higher, corresponding to previous reports and textbooks (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)8). GGT was found to be significantly higher in the umbilical cords of 128 newborns delivered after 37 to 42 weeks of gestation according to adult levels, and it was concluded that the high GGT activity of cord sera probably occurs because of hepatic immaturity rather than maternal sources, enzymatic induction, or microsomal lesions (9). In fact, most serum enzymes are elevated in humans during the neonatal period.…”