RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To address the relationship between apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and oxidative stress in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: Fifty pregnant women diagnosed with GDM and normal pregnant women were recruited separately and their blood and placental tissue were collected. Western blot assay, qRT-PCR assay and ELISA were used to detect the expression levels of ApoE and other oxidative stress factors in these samples. ApoE-/- mice with a C57BL/6J background were used to evaluate the relationship between ApoE deficiency and oxidative stress during GDM. RESULTS: Serum and placental ApoE were both down-regulated in GDM patients (serum: 45.25 ± 19.27 µg/ml for GDM and 96.34 ± 24.05 µg/ml for control; placental: 14.49 ± 6.52 ng/mg tissue for GDM and 48.76 ± 13.59 ng/mg tissue for control). There was a statistical correlation between placental ApoE level and oxidative stress in GDM (r = -0.4904 with MDA, -0.4258 with NO, 0.4476 with SOD, 0.6316 with GSH). ApoE deficiency exacerbated blood glucose, insulin anomaly and oxidative stress in placenta in GDM mouse models. Placental Apo E deficiency correlates to oxidative stress in GDM. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we innovatively revealed the relationship between ApoE and GDM oxidative stress among GDM patients in this study.