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. 2020 Sep 30:11:567955.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2020.567955. eCollection 2020.

Fetuin-A in Infants Born Small- or Large-for-Gestational-Age

Wen-Juan Wang  1   2 , Shufan Wang  2 , Meng-Nan Yang  1   2 , Yu Dong  1 , Hua He  1 , Fang Fang  1 , Rong Huang  2 , Xiao-Gang Yu  1 , Guang-Hui Zhang  3 , Xia Zhao  3 , Tao Zheng  4 , Xiao-Yi Huang  5 , Jun Zhang  1 , Fengxiu Ouyang  1 , Zhong-Cheng Luo  1   2
Affiliations

Fetuin-A in Infants Born Small- or Large-for-Gestational-Age

Wen-Juan Wang et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Fetuin-A is a multifunctional glycoprotein that has been implicated in insulin resistance and bone metabolism. We assessed whether fetuin-A is associated with poor or excessive fetal growth. In the Shanghai Birth Cohort, we conducted a nested case-control study of 60 trios of small-for-gestational-age (SGA, birth weight <10th percentile), optimal-for-gestational-age (OGA, 25-75th, the reference) and large-for-gestational-age (LGA, >90th percentile) infants matched by sex and gestational age. Cord plasma concentrations of fetuin-A and fetal growth factors [insulin, proinsulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and IGF-II] were measured. Cord plasma fetuin-A concentrations were higher in SGA (809.4 ± 306.9 μg/ml, P = 0.026) and LGA (924.2 ± 375.9 μg/ml, P < 0.001) relative to OGA (680.7 ± 262.1 μg/ml) newborns, and were not correlated to insulin, proinsulin, IGF-I and IGF-II (all P > 0.2). Higher fetuin-A concentrations were associated with increased risks of SGA [OR = 1.67 (1.08-2.58) per SD increment, P = 0.024] and LGA [OR = 2.36 (1.53-3.66), P < 0.001]. Adjusting for maternal and neonatal characteristics and fetal growth factors, the elevated risk changed little for LGA [adjusted OR = 2.28 (1.29-4.01), P = 0.005], but became non-significant for SGA (P = 0.202). Our study is the first to demonstrate that fetuin-A may be involved in excessive fetal growth. This association is independent of fetal growth factors.

Keywords: fetuin A; insulin; insulin-like growth factor; large-for-gestational-age; small-for-gestational-age.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart in the selection of study subjects in a nested matched case control study of SGA, LGA, and OGA newborns in the Shanghai Birth Cohort. SGA, small-for-gestational-age (birth weight <10th percentile); LGA, large-for-gestational-age (>90th percentile); OGA, optimal-for-gestational-age (25–75th percentiles).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cord plasma fetuin-A concentrations in small-, optimal-, or large-for-gestational-age (SGA, OGA, LGA) infants. The boxes represent the medians and interquartile ranges, the dots represent the maximal values. P = 0.024 comparing SGA vs. OGA, and P < 0.001 comparing LGA vs. OGA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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