Effects of variation in retinol binding protein 4 gene and adipose specific expression of gestational diabetes in Beijing, China

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2012.02.017Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

To investigate the clinical features of GDM in China and the effects of RBP4 genetic variants, and also to identify RBP4 expression changes in mRNA and protein levels.

Research design and methods

1595 Chinese pregnant women were included in this study. Four known RBP4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 505 cases and 687 controls. Expression levels of adipose specific RBP4 mRNA and protein were detected in 41 samples of subcutaneous adipose tissue.

Results

The estimated indices of insulin resistance were gradually increased from NGT, GIGT to GDM. Two single SNPs were associated with GDM (rs3758539 G vs A, OR = 1.446, P = 0.009; rs3758539 GG vs AG + AA, OR = 1.532, P = 0.006; rs12265684 C vs G, OR = 1.296, P = 0.038) and a haplotype of 3 common SNPs [G-G-T] was increased in subjects with GDM and GIGT (OR = 1.322, 95% CI 1.054–1.659, P = 0.016). RBP4 mRNA expression in adipose tissue of GDM patients was significantly increased in comparison to control subjects (1.438 ± 0.187 vs 1.034 ± 0.062, p = 0.025).

Conclusion

This finding suggests that impaired insulin sensitivity has an early onset in mild gestational intolerance. Two single SNPs were associated with GDM in the case-control study while a haplotype of 3 common SNPs [G-G-T] was increased in glucose intolerance subjects.

Section snippets

Subjects

Study subjects were collected from the outpatient clinic of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) from September 2005 to March 2008. All subjects were of Han Chinese and lived in the same region (Beijing, China) at the time of the study. Briefly, all pregnant women in outpatient were subjected to a standardized 50 g glucose challenge test (GCT) at a time period from the 24 to 28th gestational week. Patients with pregestational diabetes mellitus, treatment with steroid hormones, serious

The anthropometric and biochemical features of study population

A total of 1596 subjects were included in the study. Baseline characteristics show that age, prepregnancy BMI and blood pressure were significantly increased in GCT+ compared to GCT− subjects. Within the GCT positive cohort, GDM subjects were significantly older, had higher BMI and blood pressure and more often reported of a positive family history of diabetes (Table 1). Furthermore, WBC, TG, hsCRP and insulin level during OGTT were significantly increased in GDM in comparison to GIGT or NGT.

Discussion

A true increase in the prevalence of GDM, aside from its adverse consequences for infants in the newborn period, might also reflect or contribute to the current patterns of increasing diabetes and obesity [6]. According to our study, insulin sensitivity decreases in both GDM and GIGT while beta cell function were significantly decreased when evaluated by indices calculated from both fasting and postprandial glucose and insulin level during OGTT. This finding suggests that impaired insulin

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We sincerely appreciate all participants in this study and all medical staffs for their invaluable assistance in providing and collecting specimen. We thank Shanghai BioWing Applied Biotechnology Co. Ltd. for providing genotyping service. This work was supported by grants from the Project of Capital Medical Development and Research, Beijing, PR China (no. 2002-1017).

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