Circulating Levels of the Adipokine Chemerin in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Chemerin was recently introduced as a novel adipokine playing a crucial role in adipocyte differentiation and insulin signaling. In the current study, we investigated circulating chemerin levels in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) as compared to healthy pregnant controls matched for gestational age and fasting insulin. Methods: Chemerin was quantified by ELISA in control (n = 80) and GDM (n = 40) patients and correlated to clinical and biochemical measures of renal function, glucose and lipid metabolism, as well as inflammation, in both groups. Results: Median maternal serum chemerin concentrations were not significantly different in subjects with GDM (230.3 µg/l) as compared to healthy pregnant controls (217.6 µg/l). Chemerin significantly and positively correlated with homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and serum creatinine in uni- and multivariate analyses. Furthermore, chemerin serum levels were highest in patients in the third tertile of HOMA-IR. Conclusions: Chemerin is independently associated with markers of insulin resistance and renal dysfunction but is not dysregulated in GDM if patients are matched with controls for fasting insulin.