Osteoprotegerin, interleukin and hepatocyte growth factor for prediction of diabetes and hypertension in the third trimester of pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) raises the risk of high blood pressure and may cause a series of life-threatening complications in pregnant women. Screening and management of GDM and gestational hypertension (GH) in pregnancy helps to control and reduce these risks and prevent adverse effects on mothers and their fetuses. Currently, the majority criteria used for screening of diabetes mellitus is oral glucose tolerance tests, and blood pressure test is usually used for the screening and diagnosis of hypertension. However, these criteria might not anticipate or detect all GDM or GH cases. Therefore, new specific predictive and diagnostic tools should be evaluated for this population. This study selected three biomarkers of osteoprotegerin (OPG), interleukin (IL) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) for GDM and GH predication and diagnosis. AIM: To explore the feasibility of changes in placental and serum OPG, IL and HGF as tools for prediction and diagnosis of diabetes and hypertension in pregnant women. METHODS: From January 2018 to January 2019, 44 pregnant women with GDM and GH were selected as an observation group, and 44 healthy pregnant women were selected as a control group in the same period. Serum OPG, IL and HGF were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The levels of OPG and HGF in the observation group were lower than in the control group, and the level of IL-1ß was higher in the observation group than in the control group (all P < 0.05). Furthermore, OPG and HGF were negatively associated with gestational diabetes and gestational hypertension, while IL-1ß was positively associated with GDM complicated with GH (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The evaluation of serum OPG, HGF and IL-1ß levels in patients with coexistent gestational diabetes complicated with hypertension can predict the degree of disease and play an important role in the follow-up treatment and prognosis prediction.

Novel plant flavonoid electrochemical sensor based on in-situ and controllable double-layered membranes modified electrode.

Identification and quantification of plant flavonoids are critical to pharmacokinetic study and pharmaceutical quality control due to their distinct pharmacological functions. Here we report on a novel plant flavonoid electrochemical sensor for sensitive and selective detection of dihydromyricetin (DMY) based on double- layered membranes consisting of gold nanoparticles (Au) anchored on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Both rGO-Au and MIPs membranes were directly formed on GCE via in-situ electrochemical reduction and polymerization processes step by step. The compositions, morphologies, and electrochemical properties of membranes were investigated with X-ray powder diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) combined with various electrochemical methods. The fabricated electrochemical sensor labeled as GCE│rGO-Au/MIPs exhibited excellent performance in determining of DMY under optimal experimental conditions. A wide linear detection range (LDR) ranges from 2.0×10-8 to 1.0×10-4 M together with a low limit of detection (LOD) of 1.2×10-8 M (S/N = 3) were achieved. Moreover, the electrochemical sensor was employed to determine DMY in real samples with satisfactory results.