title: Prevalence of zinc transporter 8 antibodies in gestational diabetes mellitus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Gestational diabetes mellitus affects approximately 7% of all pregnant women. Some of these women develop autoantibodies that are generally characteristic of Type 1 diabetes. Autoantibodies targeting glutamic acid decarboxylase and tyrosine phosphatase-like protein are the most frequently reported. A recently identified autoantigen in Type 1 diabetes is zinc transporter 8. Some reports suggest that the frequency of zinc transporter 8 antibodies is as high as glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies in Type 1 diabetes and thus a good diagnostic marker for autoimmune diabetes. There are currently no reports of zinc transporter 8 antibodies in gestational diabetes. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the frequency of zinc transporter 8 antibodies in patients at clinical onset of gestational diabetes mellitus.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects included in this pilot study were all diagnosed with gestational diabetes at Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden, 2009-2010 (n = 193). Sera samples were analysed for antibodies using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay according to the manufacturers' instructions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that 19/193 patients with gestational diabetes, diagnosed in 2009-2010, were positive for at least one autoantibody. Glutamic acid decarboxylase was the most common single autoantibody (52.6%; 10/19), followed by zinc transporter 8 (21.1%; 4/19) and tyrosine phosphatase-like protein (15.8%; 3/19). Combinations of two or more antibodies were rare (10.5%; 2/19).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, we found that zinc transporter 8 added 2.1% (4/193) of autoantibody positivity in women with gestational diabetes who were negative for glutamic acid decarboxylase and tyrosine phosphatase-like protein antibodies. Glutamic acid decarboxylase was still the most prevalent autoantibody in gestational diabetes, but, as zinc transporter 8 was present even in the absence of glutamic acid decarboxylase, this autoantibody could be an important independent marker of autoimmunity in gestational diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dereke
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Landin-Olsson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hillman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D002096:C-Peptide / Q000097:blood; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011247:Pregnancy; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D000075703:Zinc Transporter 8
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D002096:C-Peptide; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; C492522:SLC30A8 protein, human; D000075703:Zinc Transporter 8; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase