title: Leukocyte Telomere Length in the Neonatal Offspring of Mothers with Gestational and Pre-Gestational Diabetes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Telomeres undergo shortening with cell division, accelerated by increased oxidative stress. We aimed to demonstrate shortened telomeres in the offspring of mothers who have diabetes as a consequence of exposure to increased oxidative stress during intrauterine development.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the level of glycaemia (glucose, HbA1c, fructosamine), oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation) and the levels of antioxidant enzymes (Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Selenium dependent glutathione peroxidase) and correlate these findings with mean telomere length (TL) in maternal and foetal blood in groups of pregnant women with pre-gestational diabetes (PGD), gestational diabetes (GD) and a euglycaemic control group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Foetal and maternal glucose, maternal HbA1c, and foetal insulin and C-peptide were higher in the PGD group with the GD group being intermediate. Markers of oxidative stress did not vary between groups with the exception of foetal SOD activity that was highest in the GD group. There were no detectable differences in maternal or foetal TL between study groups. An exploratory analysis looking at correlations between glycaemic and oxidative stress parameters and TL revealed a negative correlation between maternal and foetal glucose and TL across the whole study population. This relationship held for the short-term marker of glycaemic control, fructosamine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We were unable to show significant telomere shortening in the offspring of mothers with PGD or GD. Exploratory analysis revealed a relationship between foetal TL and short-term glycaemia particularly in PGD. It is possible that increased telomerase activity can compensate for long-term increased oxidative stress but not for short-term dysglycaemia.
authors.affiliation: Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Box Hill, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gilfillan
authors.affiliation: Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Box Hill, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Pratyusha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Naidu
authors.affiliation: Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Box Hill, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gunawan
authors.affiliation: Peninsula Health, Frankston, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Fadwa
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.affiliation: Cord Blood Stem Cell Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Cord Blood Stem Cell Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Ngaire
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Elwood
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000097:blood; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000097:blood*; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D000080662:Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase; D011247:Pregnancy; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000097:blood; D059506:Telomere Shortening
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose; D004247:DNA; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D000080662:Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human