Role of apolipoprotein E in suppressing oxidative stress in gestational diabetes mellitus patients and mouse model

To address the relationship between apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and oxidative stress in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).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.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.In conclusion, we innovatively revealed the relationship between ApoE and GDM oxidative stress among GDM patients in this study.