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Maternal obesity affects neonatal adipogenesis

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 12, page 63 (2016)Cite this article

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Umbilical-cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from neonates born to mothers with obesity have increased adipogenic potential, according to a new study published in Diabetes.

Maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with increased birth weight and neonatal fat mass. Epidemiological studies have shown that children born to women with obesity are at increased risk of obesity in later life, independent of their postnatal lifestyles. On the basis of studies in sheep suggesting that maternal obesity alters fetal skeletal muscle and adipose tissue development, the investigators hypothesized that exposure to maternal obesity would alter the lineage specification of fetal MSCs, which differentiate into myocytes and adipocytes. “Fetal umbilical cord tissue is an abundant source of MSCs,” explains corresponding author Kristen Boyle. “We obtained fetal MSCs from umbilical cord tissue samples from babies born to women who were obese or normal weight, with the hypothesis that phenotypic differences would be evident.”

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References

  1. Boyle, K. E. et al. Mesenchymal stem cells from infants born to obese mothers exhibit greater potential for adipogenesis: the Healthy Start BabyBUMP project. Diabetes http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/db15-0849

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  1. Hugh Thomas
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Thomas, H. Maternal obesity affects neonatal adipogenesis. Nat Rev Endocrinol 12, 63 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2015.225

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