Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the plasma osteoprotegerin (OPG) levels in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and normal glucose tolerance (NGT) during the last trimester of pregnancy, and to investigate the relationship between OPG and some related factors.

Method: In this study, 65 women with GDM and 65 women with NGT were enrolled. Plasma concentration of OPG was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The level of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), fasting insulin(FINS), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), blood cell count was also assayed, and the homeostasis model assessment of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated.

Results: The level of plasma OPG was not significantly different between women with GDM and NGT. In the group of NGT, OPG levels were positively correlated with FINS (r=0.335, P=0.012), HOMA-IR (r=0.363, P=0.006), platelet count (r=0.333, P=0.009) and apolipoprotein B (r=−0.254, P=0.043).

Conclusion: OPG may be involved in insulin resistance and inflammation during the pregnance in women with NGT, the effects were not obvious in the group of GDM. One possible explanation was that OPG tended to have a weaker effect on insulin resistance and inflammation and the role of OPG may be covered by other stronger factors in the pathogenesis of GDM.

Declaration of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research project.

Funding: This work was supported, however funding details unavailable.