Gestational diabetes mellitus alters maternal and neonatal circulating endothelial progenitor cell subsets

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine whether women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and their offspring have reduced endothelial progenitor cell subsets and vascular reactivity.

Study design: Women with GDM, healthy control subjects, and their infants participated. Maternal blood and cord blood were assessed for colony-forming unit-endothelial cells and endothelial progenitor cell subsets with the use of polychromatic flow cytometry. Cord blood endothelial colony-forming cells were enumerated. Vascular reactivity was tested by laser Doppler imaging.

Results: Women with GDM had fewer CD34, CD133, CD45, and CD31 cells (circulating progenitor cells [CPCs]) at 24-32 weeks' gestation and 1-2 days after delivery, compared with control subjects. No differences were detected in colony-forming unit-endothelial cells or colony-forming unit-endothelial cells. In control subjects, CPCs were higher in the third trimester, compared with the postpartum period. Cord blood from GDM pregnancies had reduced CPCs. Vascular reactivity was not different between GDM and control subjects.

Conclusion: The normal physiologic increase in CPCs during pregnancy is impaired in women with GDM, which may contribute to endothelial dysfunction and GDM-associated morbidities.