title: Plasma fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) as a novel biomarker to predict gestational diabetes mellitus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) is mainly expressed in adipocytes and macrophages and is demonstrated to be elevated in diabetes patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of FABP4 in the diagnosis of GDM and to investigate the relationship between FABP4 and overweight, insulin resistance and inflammatory marker TNF-α.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 46 women with GDM and 55 age-matched pregnant women without GDM (non-GDM) were eligible for the study. Demographic and biochemical parameters and fasting venous blood samples of two groups were collected from all cases. Serum concentrations of FABP4 were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The predictive value of Serum FABP4 level was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the serum FABP4 levels were significantly higher in GDM compared to the non-GDM group. The area under the ROC curve assay yielded a satisfactory result of 0.94 (95 % confidence interval 0.90-0.98; p < 0.001). The best compromise between 86.96 % specificity and 89.09 % sensitivity was obtained with a cutoff value of 1.96 ng/mL for GDM diagnosis. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was observed between FABP4 and overweight, insulin resistance and TNF-α in pregnant women with GDM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that serum FABP4 may potentially serve as a novel biomarker for the prediction of GDM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao, 266000, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao, 266000, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao, 266000, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Zhanping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China. xingboozhao@sina.com.
authors.forename: Xingbo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000502:physiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000378:metabolism*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C493410:FABP4 protein, human; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
keywords: Fatty acid-binding protein 4; Gestational diabetes mellitus; Overweight; TNF-α