Disease relevance of Fetal Weight

• Injection of WR 2721 at 100 mg/kg of maternal body weight resulted in the presence of 8-9-mg/kg embryo weight; this embryo level is about 1/2 the injected dose of WR 2721 currently being used in human radiotherapy trials, that is, 20 mg/kg (740 mg/m2) body weight [1].
• Both maternal weight gains and fetal weights were less for the 1.2-mg, P-55 group; otherwise reproductive performance was similar among the groups [2].
• In AGA and in IUGR fetuses, significant positive relationships were found between fetal leptin concentrations and both gestational age (p<0.001) and fetal weight (p<0.001) [3].
• There was no statistically significant change in the rate of nutrient transfer per placenta or per kg fetal weight, with birth weight, birth weight centile, ponderal index, placental weight and placental:fetal weight [4].
• Dexamethasone (100 microg/kg body wt per day) administered via an osmotic pump to pregnant rats (day 15 to day 21; term=22 to 23 days) reduced fetal weight at day 21 and caused hypertension, hyperinsulinaemia and elevated corticosterone levels in the adult (24-week-old) male offspring [5].

High impact information on Fetal Weight

• We found that rat placental 11 beta-OHSD activity correlated positively with term fetal weight and negatively with placental weight [6].
• Deletion of Pog is also accompanied by reduced embryonic body weight and, on some genetic backgrounds, embryonic lethality [7].
• Acetylsalicylic acid, 55-90 mg/kg of estimated fetal weight, then was administered into the fetal stomach [8].
• Fetal body weight was depressed by 21% overall, the magnitude of reduction related to length of time in utero after STZ injection [9].
• Fetal body weight and body length were significantly (p less than 0.05-0.001) reduced in the hyperglycaemic rats compared to normal rats, as was the thymidine incorporation into rib cartilage (p less than 0.02) [10].

Chemical compound and disease context of Fetal Weight

• A significant correlation between both maternal plasma triglyceride and nonesterified fatty acid levels with placental or fetal triglyceride content was found, although fetal weight did not change significantly [11].
• In fetuses that were below about 40% of normal size, and in which placental blood was below about 30% of control, fetal weight was less sensitive to falls in blood glucose, which in turn was more sensitive than normal to a fall in maternal placental blood flow [12].
• Isometric force increased progressively with age, reaching 4.1 +/- 0.4 mN for K+ and 5.8 +/- 0.5 mN for ACh (10(-4) M) at 600 g fetal weight (90 days) [13].
• Higher enzymic activity was recorded with increased fetal body weight, but the reverse was true for taurine level [14].
• The highest dose of fenofibrate decreased fetal weight [15].

Biological context of Fetal Weight

• Prenatal ethanol exposure at 36% EDC decreased fetal body weight, length, and skeletal ossification compared with PF and C fetuses on d21 gestation [16].
• Of note were the 364% increase in AF methionine and the constant decline in AF taurine as both gestational age lengthened and fetal weight increased [17].
• Fetal growth showed a dose-related decrease in the 45- and 60-mg/kg cocaine treatment groups; fetal body weights and length were significantly decreased by 5% to 10% [18].
• Differences among the treatment groups included a lower fetal survival percentage in UHO (vs. INT or MS) on Day 40, and higher maternal hematocrits, fetal weights, fetal hematocrits, fetal EPO levels, and liver transferrin secretion in WC vs. MS pigs [19].
• In contrast, for the offspring, when food intake was controlled for, a restricted level of maternal dietary carbohydrate significantly lowered fetal weight, plasma glucose and insulin concentrations and liver glycogen concentrations measured at term [20].

Anatomical context of Fetal Weight

• In the stage 21 chick embryo, intravenous administration of caffeine (60 +/- 9 mg/kg embryo weight) induced an increase in blood pressure by 11 +/- 3% (n = 8), but did not result in a significant increase in dorsal aortic blood flow (6 +/- 6%, n = 9) or in heart rate [21].
• In six fetal sheep in utero, we found that injections of ET-1 (250 ng/kg fetal weight) into the left pulmonary artery increased left pulmonary blood flow (21.0 +/- 17.5 to 74.7 +/- 32.9 mL/kg/min, p < 0.05) and decreased left pulmonary vascular resistance (6.02 +/- 7.00 to 0.84 +/- 0.48 mm Hg/kg/min/mL, p < 0.05) [22].
• The concentration of insulin-like growth factor-I and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 in human umbilical cord serum at delivery: relation to fetal weight [23].
• When all subjects were included, a significant correlation was found between the degree of error in the ultrasound estimation of fetal weight and the ponderal index (r = 0.40, P less than .01), the sum of the skinfold measurements (r = 0.29, P less than .05), and the present body fat (r = 0.28, P less than .05) [24].
• In each case, at the time of surgery, an Alzet osmotic pump delivering cocaine at 0.5 mg/kg estimated fetal weight per hour into the amniotic fluid was secured to the fetal back [25].

Gene context of Fetal Weight

• Circulating IGF-I is positively correlated with fetal weight (r = 0.66, P = 0.03), circulating IGFBP-3 (r = 0.54, P = 0.01) and IGFBP-4 (r = 0.52, P = 0.01) [26].
• By contrast, cord serum IGFBP-1 from CS group without labor may preeminently reflect fetal weight [27].
• In animal experiments, placental weight but not fetal weight was suppressed when EGF antiserum was administrated to maternal mice, however, fetal lung maturity in terms of lamella body produced in type II alveolar cells was suppressed in antiserum given group [28].
• Pair-feeding db/+ mothers to the intake of WT mothers normalized fetal weight despite less than normal maternal insulin sensitivity [29].
• Fetal weight and instantaneous growth rate (IGR) were positively correlated to maternal NEFA and PL and negatively correlated to maternal IGF-I and IGF-II [30].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Fetal Weight

• While fetal weight was significantly decreased in the STZ-treated rats (2.64 +/- 0.13 g vs 3.52 +/- 0.05 g for the control group, P less than 0.005), fetal glucose was significantly higher in the STZ-treated than in normal pups (342 +/- 11 vs 35 +/- 1 mg/dl, P less than 0.005) [31].
• To investigate the direct consequences of this, 11 fetal lambs were given ritodrine hydrochloride for periods of 2-4 days by continuous intravenous infusion at 5 or 10 micrograms/minute (1-3 micrograms/minute/kg estimated fetal weight) [32].
• The fetal metabolic clearance rate of epinephrine was determined at 126 to 140 days' gestation by the constant infusion of 0.1 micrograms epinephrine per kilogram estimated fetal weight per minute [33].
• The embryotoxic (fetotoxic) indicators, fetal weight and crown-rump length, decreased with increases in exposure time and with increased concentrations of arsenate [34].
• At cesarean sections, average fetal body weights in the acetazolamide groups were dose-dependently decreased compared with controls [35].

References