Angiopoietin-Like 8 in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Reduced Levels in Third Trimester Maternal Serum and Placenta, Increased Levels in Cord Blood Serum

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) poses a significant health risk to pregnant women, and thus exploring the potential underlying mechanism is highly desirable. The aim of the study was to compare maternal serum, cord blood serum, and placental angiopoietin-like 8 (ANGPTL8) levels in the third trimester of pregnancy in women with and without gestational diabetes and explore the potential underlying mechanism. A total of 42 pregnant women (23 with GDM and 19 with normal glucose tolerance (NGT)) along with 29 age-matched non-pregnant healthy females were enrolled. All pregnant subjects were in the late third trimester. Maternal serum and cord blood serum ANGPTL8 levels were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the protein levels of ANGPTL8 in placentas were assessed with western blotting. The associations between maternal serum and cord blood serum ANGPTL8 levels and metabolic parameters were investigated with the Spearman correlation analysis. Significantly lower levels of maternal serum and placental ANGPTL8 levels were observed in GDM patients compared to NGT pregnant women, while remarkably higher ANGPTL8 levels were present in the cord blood serum samples. The maternal serum ANGPTL8 level was positively correlated with BMI, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and AUC for OGTT and birthweight. Additionally, the cord blood serum ANGPTL8 level was positively correlated with insulin and the homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance. Both maternal serum and cord blood serum ANGPTL8 levels seemed to correlate with GDM and has the potential to be used as a biomarker for GDM and birthweight prediction.