Maternal and fetal neudesin levels in pregnancy: associations with gestational diabetes mellitus and pregnancy outcomes.

Abstract

Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is significantly associated with short- and long-term adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Despite the important role of neudesin in modulating glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity, extant literature is scarce on the link between neudesin and GDM. This study investigated neudesin in GDM and its potential as a diagnostic marker and future therapeutic target.

Material and methods: We conducted a case control study at our department. Forty-five Pregnant women with GDM were included in the study group, while an equal number of healthy pregnancies constituted the controls. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique was employed to quantify the concentration of neudesin in both maternal and cord samples.

Results: Women with GDM (n=45) exhibited significantly higher maternal and umbilical cord serum neudesin levels compared to controls (median maternal neudesin: 4.9 ng/mL vs. 1.9 ng/mL; median umbilical cord neudesin: 2.6 ng/mL vs. 1.2 ng/mL). Maternal neudesin levels correlated positively with body mass index, fasting insulin, measures of insulin resistance, and neonatal birth weight and inversely with APGAR scores. A maternal neudesin cut-off of 5.25 ng/mL demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for GDM (area under the curve =0.967, 91.1% sensitivity, 93.3% specificity, 92.2% accuracy).

Conclusion: Neudesin may serve as a potential diagnostic tool for GDM. Future investigations into neudesin as a novel GDM biomarker and potential therapeutic target are urgently warranted.