Non-enzymatic glycation of fetal tissue in diabetic pregnancy. Estimation of the glucitollysine content of umbilical cord extracts.

Non-enzymatic glycation of fetal tissue was studied by determining the glucitollysine content of umbilical cord extracts from twelve infants of diabetic mothers and fourteen infants of healthy, non-diabetic women (controls). The single, glycated amino-acid glycitollysine, which reflects the extent of glycation processes in biological samples, was measured by a standard amino acid ion exchange chromatography followed by reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography. Infants of diabetic mothers had significantly higher cord glucitollysine levels than infants of control mothers (14.3 + 4.6 vs. 5.5 + 2.1 ng/mg dry tissue; M + SD, p less than 0.001). Moreover, five infants of diabetic mothers with congenital anomalies had strikingly high glucitollysine levels, higher than the mean +4 SD of the controls. We conclude, that non-enzymatic glycation of fetal tissue does occur as a result of an in utero exposure to cumulative glycemia. Major congenital anomalies in diabetic pregnancies are associated with a greater extent of non-enzymatic glycation of umbilical cord tissue.