Maternal parity and adipokines

Hyatt and co-workers used an established sheep model to investigate the impact of maternal parity on adipose tissue development with regard to glucocorticoid sensitivity and adipokine gene expression. The increase in fat mass associated with the firstborn was accompanied by a resetting of the leptin and glucocorticoid axis within the adipocyte. This shows the importance of parity in determining adipose tissue development and that firstborn offspring have an increased capacity for adipogenesis that may be critical in determining their adiposity. Hyatt et al., Journal of Endocrinology.

DOI: 10.1677/JOE-09-0358