Maternal effect genes: Findings and effects on mouse embryo development / 대한생식의학회지

Stored maternal factors in oocytes regulate oocyte differentiation into embryos during early embryonic development. Before zygotic gene activation (ZGA), these early embryos are mainly dependent on maternal factors for survival, such as macromolecules and subcellular organelles in oocytes. The genes encoding these essential maternal products are referred to as maternal effect genes (MEGs). MEGs accumulate maternal factors during oogenesis and enable ZGA, progression of early embryo development, and the initial establishment of embryonic cell lineages. Disruption of MEGs results in defective embryogenesis. Despite their important functions, only a few mammalian MEGs have been identified. In this review we summarize the roles of known MEGs in mouse fertility, with a particular emphasis on oocytes and early embryonic development. An increased knowledge of the working mechanism of MEGs could ultimately provide a means to regulate oocyte maturation and subsequent early embryonic development.

Correlation between the cord blood concentarion of leptin and maternal, placental, fetal factors in uncomplicated singleton pregnancy / 대한산부인과학회지

OBJECTIVE: Umbilical leptin concentrations have been associated with whole-body mineral content, fetal bone growth stimulation, pulmonary development in utero, nutritional intake, energy metabolism, and adiposity in children and adults. In this study, we investigated the effect of maternal factor, placental factor and fetal factor on cord blood leptin concentrations. METHODS: We measured leptin concentration in umbilical cord blood using immunoradiometric assay in 50 women with uncomplicated singleton term pregnancies. we analyzed the correlation of leptin level with maternal age, sex, gestational age, smoking, placental weight, neonatal body mass index, maternal body mass index, head circumference, and chest circumference by simple linear regression. RESULTS: There were significant correlation between leptin and gestational age, fetal BMI, head circumference, and chest circumference with correlation coefficient 0.244 (P=0.010), 0.182 (P=0.030), 0.243 (P=0.011), and 0.228 (P=0.014), respectively in the male neonates. There were significant correlation between leptin and fetal BMI with correlation coefficient 0.341 (P=0.003) in the female neonates. No statistically significant correlation between the concentration of leptin and neonatal gender was observed, in spite of higher mean value of female leptin concentration level. Also no statistically significant correlation between the concentration of leptin and smoking and drinking of mother was observed. CONCLUSION: In this study, leptin is significantly correlated with maternal age, maternal BMI, gestational age, fetal BMI, and chest circumference. It was suggested that leptin level was more associated with maternal factor and fetal factor than placental factor.

Analysis of the Inquiry Types of the Pediatric Endocrinologic Diseases Counseled on the Internet / 대한소아내분비학회지

PURPOSE: On account of the civilization progress and popularization of the internet, we have researched the current public understandings of the pediatric endocrinologic diseases. METHODS: Analyzable 582 cases of 1,160 cases inquired by the online counsel board for the pediatric endocrinologic diseases from March of 2001 to January of 2004 were classified into four groups. RESULTS: There were 187 inquiries related to short stature. Most counsels were taken by their mothers. In the height distribution of them, under 3 percentile were 27 (21.4%). About precocious puberty, there were 82 for girls and 8 for boys of the total 110 inquiries. The number of children among 6-10 year old were 62. The main subject matter of inquiry accounted for the great majority as 67 cases was about breast budding. And there were 117 inquiries related to childhood diabetes. The number of children among 1-5 year old were 43 (49.4%). Lastly, there were 149 inquiries related to the thyroid diseases. The number of children under 1 year old were 55 (45.8%). CONCLUSION: Considering the most cases of the stature under 50 percentile on the current Korean growth curve begun since 1998, a present phase of quite competition of the stature was recognized. And it could be possible to say that the maternal factor for short stature seems more important than the paternal factor, because our data show that the short stature mothers of the short stature children is two folds more than the short stature fathers of them.

Clinical Study on Intrauterine Fetal Growth Restriction / 대한주산의학회잡지

This study was undertaken at the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chonnam University Medical School, to investigate the association between some of the risk factor and the incidence of intrauterine fetal growth restriction(IUGR). The studied population was selected from patients who admitted at Chonnam University Hospital during January, 1992 through May, 1997, with following criteria, Korean, singletone pregnancy with live birth and known gestational weeks with 28 or more. And then, the risk factors were analyzed in terms of maternal factor, placental factor, and fetal factor. The following results were obtained. 1) The incidence of IUGR was 6.1%. 2) The incidence of IUGR was higher at young aged mother and nullipara. 3) Only 39.1% of etiologic factors for IUGR was found to have known causes. According to the risk factors for IUGR, hypertensive disorder during pregnancy, anemia, cardiac disease, leukemia, and pulmonary tuberculosis were associated with increased incidence of IUGR. 4) The relative risk of IUGR was much higher in neonates born with congenital anomalies. 5) According to the placental causes of IUGR, placenta previa and placenta abruption showed some association with IUGR.