Evaluation of irisin and visfatin levels in very low birth weight preterm newborns compared to full term newborns—A prospective cohort study

Abstract

Premature infants represent one of the groups with increased risk for metabolic syndrome. Our study is the first one to evaluate irisin and visfatin levels, associated with the metabolic syndrome, both in blood of preterm and full-term infants, as well as in the breastmilk of their mothers. A total of 72 newborns was enrolled in the study, including 53 very low birth weight preterm infants and a control group of 19 term infants. The levels of irisin and visfatin were determined by a commercial enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay both in the baby serum and maternal milk twice, first during the 1st week of life and then 4 weeks later. Preterm infants had significantly lower serum irisin levels compared to the term infants. Overall, serum irisin level during the 1st week of life was positively correlated with several anthropometric measurements at birth, as well as during 5th weeks of age. In contrast, serum visfatin levels during 5th week of life were negatively correlated with z-scores of birth weight, weight and head circumference during 5th week of age. We found a strong negative correlation between serum irisin and serum visfatin levels at both analyzed time points. The level of milk visfatin was significantly higher in the mothers of the preterm group during 5th week of life. In conclusion, our results provide further evidence that irisin and visfatin may play physiologic roles in development of both preterm and full-term newborns during their first month after birth. Observed differences in irisin and visfatin serum and breastmilk concentrations during the earliest stages of life may contribute to development of catch up growth, but also, they might eventually lead to a higher risk for metabolic syndrome in prematurely born children in later years.

Circulating Irisin Levels in Preadolescents and Adolescents Born Preterm

“…Studies in neonatal populations have shown that irisin levels are lower in preterm and SGA newborns than in full-term-born AGA babies [7][8][9]. The downregulation of irisin in preterm and SGA neonates may be due to a lower amount of muscle mass and may suggest a lower percentage of BAT in them than in term-born infants [7,8].…”

“…In this regard, irisin has been investigated in relation to many metabolic derangements such as obesity, metabolic syndrome (MetS) and diabetes mellitus in adults and children however with variations and inconsistencies among studies [3,6]. Irisin has also been found lower in small (SGA) than appropriate for gestational age (AGA) newborn babies [7,8] and in preterm compared to fullterm neonates [8,9]. The aforementioned groups of children are well known to have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance later in life [10] related, at least partly, to altered adiposity with prevailing central/visceral adiposity [11][12][13][14] acquired during periods of catch-up growth [15].…”

The Intake of a Cafeteria Diet in Nursing Rats Alters the Breast Milk Concentration of Proteins Important for the Development of Offspring

“…High levels of adiponectin in milk are associated with later higher body weight, body weight gain or adiposity in infants, thus, it may be a risk factor for childhood overweight [13][14][15]. Irisin levels in breast milk may contribute to the development of catch up growth of the offspring [16] and may be implicated in postnatal adaptation, with respect to thermoregulation, vascular adaptation, glucose metabolism, lung function and fluid homeostasis [17]. All in all, these studies reveal the importance of maternal nutrition and/or status in the levels of these proteins, but limited information has been reported on whether these specific milk proteins could have a key role in the metabolic programming in offspring.…”

Blood serum myokine irisin and adipocytokine levels in newborns small for gestational age at birth

“…У недоношенных с экстремально низкой массой тела (ЭНМТ) выявлены значительно более низкие сывороточные концентрации иризина, чем у доношенных младенцев как на 1-й, так и на 5-й неделе жизни [14]. Уровень иризина в сыворотке крови в течение 1-й недели жизни положительно коррелировал с несколькими антропометрическими параметрами, включая вес, длину тела (ДТ) и окружность головы (ОГ) при рождении, МТ и ОГ в 5 недель.…”

“…Содержание иризина в грудном молоке на первой неделе после родов положительно коррелировало с его уровнем в молоке через 4 недели. Различий между уровнями иризина в пробах молока от матерей детей с ЭНМТ и от матерей доношенных новорожденных не обнаружено [14]. Уровни иризина в грудном молоке могут влиять на постнатальную адаптацию в отношении терморегуляции, метаболизма глюкозы и гомеостаза у новорожденных.…”