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Maternal serum placental growth hormone, insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins at 20 weeks’ gestation in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether maternal serum concentrations of placental growth hormone (GH-V), insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1 and 2, and IGF binding proteins (IGFBP) 1 and 3 were altered in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

METHOD

In a nested case-control study, GDM cases (n=28) and matched controls (n=28) were selected from the Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) biobank in Auckland, New Zealand. Maternal serum hormone concentrations at 20 weeks of gestation were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in maternal serum GH-V concentration in the GDM group compared to the control group (1.64 ± 0.11 ng/ml vs. 1.38 ± 0.10 ng/ml, p=0.079). However, GDM cases who delivered large for gestational age (LGA) babies had significantly higher serum GH-V concentrations compared to non-diabetic control cases. Maternal IGF-1 concentrations in GDM pregnancies were significantly higher than in controls (275.7 ± 11.5 ng/ml vs. 218.5 ± 11.1 ng/ml, p <0.001). Maternal IGFBP-1 concentrations were significantly lower in GDM pregnancies than in controls (41.04 ± 3.42 ng/ml vs. 67.58 ± 6.17 ng/ml, p <0.001). There were no significant differences in serum IGF-2 and IGFBP-3 concentrations between groups.

CONCLUSION

Concentrations of IGF-1 and IGFBP-1 in maternal serum were altered in GDM pregnancies compared to controls, suggesting that the IGF axis plays a role in the development of this condition. GH-V may be associated with macrosomia as increased maternal GH-V was observed in GDM cases who delivered LGA babies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, 85 Park Rd, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

    Shutan Liao, Mark H. Vickers, Philip N. Baker &  Jo K. Perry PhD

  2. Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development, Auckland, New Zealand

    Shutan Liao, Mark H. Vickers, Philip N. Baker &  Jo K. Perry PhD

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Rennae S. Taylor & Lesley M. E. McCowan

  4. Department of Physiology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Mhoyra Fraser

  5. The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Shutan Liao

  6. College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Philip N. Baker

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  1. Shutan Liao
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  2. Mark H. Vickers
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  7. Jo K. Perry PhD
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Correspondence to Jo K. Perry PhD.

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Liao, S., Vickers, M.H., Taylor, R.S. et al. Maternal serum placental growth hormone, insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins at 20 weeks’ gestation in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus. Hormones 16, 282–290 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03401522

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03401522

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