Resistin is a cysteine-rich adipokine originally described as a molecular link between obesity and insulin resistance in rodents. In this study, we hypothesised that serum resistin concentrations are elevated in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) when compared with pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and related to proinflammatory interleukin-6 (IL-6) and other factors conferring insulin resistance. Serum resistin and IL-6 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 81 women with GDM, 82 women with NGT between 24 and 31 weeks of gestation and 25 healthy non-pregnant women. Resistin concentrations were significantly higher in the GDM (21.9 [17.55–25.40] ng/ml) than in the NGT group (19.03 [15.92–23.91] ng/ml, p = 0.047), as well as in the non-pregnant women (14.8 [13.7–16.6] ng/ml, p < 0.0001). Serum IL-6 levels were elevated in the GDM (1.0 [0.7–1.5] pg/ml) as compared with the NGT group (0.8 [0.5–1.1] pg/ml, p = 0.006) and the non-pregnant controls (0.7 [0.5–1.1] pg/ml, p = 0.04). Multiple regression analysis revealed that in the pregnant women circulating resistin was related to serum IL-6 (β = 0.33, p = 0.0004) but not to insulin or the index of insulin resistance. It is concluded that the finding of high resistin and IL-6 levels in women with gestational diabetes might confirm a role of low-grade inflammation in the pathogenesis of GDM.

In this study we measured serum concentrations of proinflammatory interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and interleukin-18 as well as anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 in 30 pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance, in 32 women with abnormal results of a 50-g glucose challenge test, and in 57 patients with gestational diabetes mellitus. Patients with gestational diabetes had significantly higher IL-6 (median 1.0 [0.7–1.5] vs. 0.7 [0.4–0.8] pg/ml, p=0.001), IL-8 (2.1 [1.1–4.2] pg/ml vs. 0.7 [0.4–0.9] pg/ml, p<0.0001), and IL-18 (249.3 [188.5–318.7] pg/ml vs. 186.7 [139.9–243.9] pg/ml, p=0.005) as well as lower IL-10 levels than healthy pregnant women (0.6 [0.5–1.5] pg/ml vs. 2.9 [1.8–3.2] pg/ml, p<0.0001). After adjusting for glucose, insulin, and BMI values, the differences in IL-8 and IL-18 became insignificant, whereas the differences in IL-6 and IL-10 levels remained highly significant (p<0.0001). The subjects with abnormal glucose challenge test results had higher IL-6 levels (0.9 [0.7–1.3] pg/ml, p=0.005) and similar levels of other cytokines as compared with the women with normal glucose tolerance. Our results suggest an impaired balance between circulating pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in patients with gestational diabetes; however, a significant contribution of maternal obesity to the increased levels of IL-8 and IL-18 should be underlined.

The eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis, compared with disease-free individuals, contains certain molecular alterations, including the differential expression of microRNA (miRNA). The aim of the study was to compare the expression of the most relevant miRNAs in the eutopic endometrium of women with and without ovarian endometriosis.

BACKGROUND: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of endopeptidases which play a role in the degradation and turnover of extracellular matrix proteins. Their action is regulated by specific tissue inhibitors called tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). METHODS: We measured the concentrations of total and active MMP-9 in peritoneal fluid of infertile women with mild or moderate endometriosis (n = 22) and compared them with those in a control group of infertile patients (n = 21). RESULTS: We found that the mean (±SD) total concentrations of MMP-9 in the peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis was 6.2 ± 1.8 ng/ml, in comparison with 2.9 ± 2.6 ng/ml in the control group (P = 0.001). Concentrations of active MMP-9 did not differ significantly between the groups. The concentrations of TIMP-1, after logarithmic transformation, were significantly lower (P = 0.017) in endometriotic peritoneal fluids than in peritoneal fluid of control women, 1.02 ± 0.21 ng/ml and 1.16 ± 0.18 ng/ml respectively. No correlation between stage of disease, steroid hormone concentration, MMP-9 (total and active) and TIMP-1 was found. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that a disturbed equilibrium exists between MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis. This may play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease.