The Relation between serum Omentin and insulin resistance in Gestational diabetes

Abstract

GDM is caused by an imbalance between insulin resistance and insulin secretion during pregnancy which, historically, has been thought to occur when the pancreatic β cells fail to keep pace with the increasing insulin resistance that occurs during the second half of pregnancy. Omentin is a 38-40 kDa adipokine which was identified from a cDNA library in visceral omental adipose tissue. There are two omentin genes, located adjacent to each other in the 1q22–q23 chromosomal region, which produce omentin-1 and omentin-2. Omentin is a putative insulin sensitiser, while omentin concentrations are decreased in some insulin resistant states, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, and are down regulated by insulin and glucose. Omentin could be a candidate gene for T2DM susceptibility in humans. Indeed, it has been demonstrated in vitro that treatment with recombinant omentin-1 enhances insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in human subcutaneous and omental adipocytes, implying its beneficial effect on insulin sensitivity.