Novel insights in cross-generational diabetic programming an established in vivo-model

Hypothesis: Maternal diabetes peri-gestational is clearly associated with increased risk for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in the next generation. However, since maternal risk factors are still controversy discussed we specifically designed this study to focus on the effects of gestational weight gain (GWG) respectively maternal fasting blood glucose (FBG) concentrations during pregnancy and its outcomes on their offspring.

Methods: We recently developed an in vivo model usable to analyze cross-generational mechanisms of diabetic programming. Therefore, female age-matched diabetic mice (DM; n= 6) and their controls (NDM; n= 7) were analyzed by determining GWG and FBG, etc., close-meshed. The effects of diabetic pregnancies on their offspring (ODM) were analyzed by determining usual established metabolic analyses age-, gender- as well as genotypic matched up to an age of 12 weeks.

Results: Although DM and NDM females started their pregnancies on almost comparable body weights, GWG was significantly increased in NDM compared to DM (p< 0.02). In contrast, FBG were significantly increased in DM compared to the NDM (p< 0.2) due to pregnancy. Altered glucose homeostasis in the ODM was determined in both genders by altered IPGTTs (male: p< 0.2; female: p< 0.3) at an age of 12 weeks, in addition to altered immunohistochemistry of pancreatic islets.

Conclusions: There is much evidence that pathophysiological features of diabetes get imprinted by mechanisms of in utero programming. These data suggest additionally, that maternal diabetes may seem a stronger risk factor than GWG in terms of cross-generational diabetic programming. Further analyses will have to be assessed.