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The relationship between urotensin II and insulin resistance in women with gestational diabetes mellitus

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Abstract

Aim

Urotensin II (UII), a pluripotent vasoactive peptide, plays a crucial role in development of insulin resistance. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a metabolic disorder associated with insulin resistance. The aims of the current study were to compare UII levels in women with or without GDM and to investigate the relationship between UII and insulin resistance in women with GDM.

Methods

A total of 84 women were recruited in this case-control study (42 women with GDM and 42 age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched pregnant women without GDM as controls). GDM was diagnosed by a 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test over a period of 24–28 gestational weeks. Circulating UII levels were assessed via the ELISA method. The metabolic parameters of the recruited women were also determined.

Results

The circulating levels of UII in women with GDM were higher than in controls (11.56 ± 4.13 vs. 7.62 ± 3.45 ng/ml, P < 0.001). UII showed a positive correlation with insulin resistance marker (HOMA-IR), fasting blood glucose, and BMI. Moreover, according to the results of multiple linear regression analyses, UII was independently related to HOMA-IR. Additionally, the binary logistic analysis revealed that the women with the highest tertile of UII levels showed increased risk for GDM by comparison with those women with the lowest tertile of UII levels.

Conclusion

Elevated UII levels are associated with insulin resistance in women with GDM.

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Abbreviations

BMI:

Body mass index

CI:

Confidence interval

CV:

Coefficient of variability

DBP:

Diastolic blood pressure

FBG:

Fasting blood glucose

HDL-C:

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

HOMA-IR:

Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance

hs-CRP:

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein

GDM:

Gestational diabetes mellitus

LDL-C:

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol

OGTT:

Oral glucose tolerance test

OR:

Odds ratio

SBP:

Systolic blood pressure

T2DM:

Type 2 diabetes mellitus

UII:

Urotensin II

VIF:

Variance inflation factor

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

M.C., T.A., T.K., and F.B. participated in the study design and T.K. and M.C. performed ELISA. M.C., T.A., T.K., and F.B. participated in the study design, analyzed the data, and wrote, reviewed, and edited the manuscript. M.C., F.B., and T.A. provided serum samples and contributed to discussions of data interpretation. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript. M.C. is the guarantor of this work and, as such, had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mehmet Calan.

Ethics declarations

The subjects gave their oral and written informed consent before their inclusion in the study. The study adhered strictly to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki as revised in 2008.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Calan, M., Arkan, T., Kume, T. et al. The relationship between urotensin II and insulin resistance in women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Hormones 18, 91–97 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42000-018-0084-7

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