title: Betatrophin Levels were Increased in Pregnant Women with or without Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Associated with Beta Cell Function.
abstract: Purpose betatrophin has been reported to boost β cell expansion in insulin resistant states. Pregnancy is a well-recognized physiological state of insulin resistance. Betatrophin levels in pregnant women and their relationships with metabolic variables remain to be elucidated. Methods A total of 49 pregnant women and 31 age-matched unpregnant women with normal glucose regulation (UP-NGR) were included. Among these subjects, according to results from 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), 22 women were diagnosed as having gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Results Our study found that pregnant women, regardless of their glucose regulation status, had remarkably higher triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), fasting insulin (FINS), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and homeostasis model assessment of β-cell function (HOMA-β). However, GDM patients had much lower HOMA-β compared with those of pregnant women with normal glucose regulation (P-NGR). Participants of the P-NGR group had almost 4 times higher levels of betatrophin than those of the UP-NGR group. Although betatrophin levels were lower in the GDM group than those of the P-NGR group, the difference did not reach statistical significance. Spearman correlation analysis showed that betatrophin levels were positively and significantly associated with total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), FINS and HOMA-β. However, adjustments of TC, TG and HDL-c eliminated the association between HOMA-β and betatrophin. Conclusions Pregnant women have significantly higher betatrophin levels in comparison to unpregnant women. Betatrophin levels are positively and significantly associated with β cell function and lipid levels. Furthermore, lipids may contribute to the association between betatrophin and β cell function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Zhimin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Heming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Ruihua
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000091306:Angiopoietin-Like Protein 8; D000075802:Angiopoietin-like Proteins; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C576683:ANGPTL8 protein, human; D000091306:Angiopoietin-Like Protein 8; D000075802:Angiopoietin-like Proteins; D036361:Peptide Hormones