Is Chemerin Associated with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus? A Case-Control Study

Ziwen Ma,1,&ast; Liming Chu,1,&ast; Yan Zhang,1,&ast; Fang Lu,2 Yun Zhu,1 Fei Wu,1 Zhiping Zhang1 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shanghai Pudong New Area Healthcare Hospital for Women and Children, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shanghai Forth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zhiping Zhang, Email zzpdr@126.comPurpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and Chemerin by analyzing chemerin levels in peripheral blood and cord blood, and chemerin mRNA and its protein expression in placenta and adipose tissue.Methods: A case-control study was conducted in 110 women with GDM and 110 controls without GDM who received regular prenatal services and delivered at Shanghai Pudong New Area Healthcare Hospital for Women and Children from June 2019 to December 2020.Results: The age, pre-pregnancy weight, pre-pregnancy BMI, antepartum BMI, TG/HDL ratio and TG levels in pregnant women with GDM were significantly higher than those in women without GDM, and HDL levels were significantly lower than those in the normal group. Chemerin in the umbilical cord blood of the GDM group was significantly higher than in that of the normal group, but there was no difference in chemerin levels in peripheral blood. In the two groups, the chemerin concentration in peripheral blood was significantly higher than that in umbilical cord blood (P< 0.001). The Chemerin mRNA and protein expression levels in the placenta and adipose tissue of pregnant women in the GDM group were significantly higher than those in the normal group (P < 0.001). In the GDM group, the expression of chemerin protein in adipose tissue was significantly higher than that in placental tissue. Regression analysis showed that the expression level of chemerin protein in placental tissue and adipos