Regulation of placental growth hormone secretion in a human trophoblast model - The effects of hormones and adipokines

Abstract

Placental growth hormone (PGH) is secreted from the human placental syncytiotrophoblast into the maternal circulation. PGH levels in pregnant women correlate with the birth weight of their offspring. We hypothesized that metabolic regulators may alter PGH secretion. BeWo cells as human trophoblast models were treated for 24, 48, and 72 h with insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, cortisol, ghrelin, leptin and visfatin. Cyclic-adenosinmonophosphate treatment served as positive control. PGH concentrations in culture media were measured. Insulin reduced (p < 0.008; analysis of variance) PGH secretion from BeWo cells after 72 h. No effect was found when treating cells with IGF-1. Cortisol..