Elevated Plasma Levels of Betatrophin in Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Aim: The role of betatrophin in pancreatic -cell proliferation and development of diabetes has been demonstrated experimentally and within clinical studies. The aim of this study was to measure betatrophin concentration in blood of women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to investigate the association of betatrophin with clinical-biochemical parameters and an atherogenic index in pregnant with GDM. Methods: The study included 50 women diagnosed with GDM and 60 healthy pregnant women. Plasma betatrophin was measured by ELISA. Results: The GDM group showed significantly elevated FPG, insulin, HOMA-IR values, atherogenic index, CRP, and betatrophin as compared with the control group (P<0.05). Betatrophin concentrations were positively associated with age (r=0.294, P<0.001), body mass index (r=0.395, P<0.001), FPG (r=0.763, P<0.001) and HOMA-IR (r=0.398, P<0.001), but inversely correlated with HOMA- (r=-0.794, P<0.001). In ROC analysis, the optimal cutoff value of betatrophin was 488.5pg/ml (AUC=0.888) for predicting GDM with high sensitivity (80.0%) and specificity (75.0%). Conclusion: Circulating concentrations of betatrophin are increased in GDM in contrast to expectations. We suggested that betatrophin may play a key role in the pathophysiology of GDM via regulating beta cell mass and function.