Circulating Pro- and Anti-inflammatory Cytokines in Polish Women with Gestational Diabetes

Abstract

In this study we measured serum concentrations of proinflammatory interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and interleukin-18 as well as anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 in 30 pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance, in 32 women with abnormal results of a 50-g glucose challenge test, and in 57 patients with gestational diabetes mellitus. Patients with gestational diabetes had significantly higher IL-6 (median 1.0 [0.7–1.5] vs. 0.7 [0.4–0.8] pg/ml, p=0.001), IL-8 (2.1 [1.1–4.2] pg/ml vs. 0.7 [0.4–0.9] pg/ml, p<0.0001), and IL-18 (249.3 [188.5–318.7] pg/ml vs. 186.7 [139.9–243.9] pg/ml, p=0.005) as well as lower IL-10 levels than healthy pregnant women (0.6 [0.5–1.5] pg/ml vs. 2.9 [1.8–3.2] pg/ml, p<0.0001). After adjusting for glucose, insulin, and BMI values, the differences in IL-8 and IL-18 became insignificant, whereas the differences in IL-6 and IL-10 levels remained highly significant (p<0.0001). The subjects with abnormal glucose challenge test results had higher IL-6 levels (0.9 [0.7–1.3] pg/ml, p=0.005) and similar levels of other cytokines as compared with the women with normal glucose tolerance. Our results suggest an impaired balance between circulating pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in patients with gestational diabetes; however, a significant contribution of maternal obesity to the increased levels of IL-8 and IL-18 should be underlined.

Key words

IL-6 - IL-8 - IL-10 - IL-18 - insulin resistance - pregnancy

References

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