Butyrylcholinesterase Activity in Gestational Diabetes: Correlation with Lymphocyte Subpopulations in Peripheral Blood

Abstract

Inefficient clearance of pregnancy-threatening toxins may contribute to gestational diabetes (GD) and Type II diabetes mellitus (DM) through mechanisms involving immune dysregulation. Peripheral venous blood from pregnant Kuwaiti women in third trimester, including 15 GD and 17 DM patients, 14 healthy pregnant (HP) and eight non-pregnant subjects, was analyzed by two-color flow cytometery for number and percentage representation of T lymphocytes. Buterylcholinesterase (BuChE) activity was measured using buterylthiocholine iodide and spectrophotometry. Relative to HP, GD patients exhibited higher ratios of activated and memory phenotypes, including CD4+ CD25+ (P < 0.01), CD4+ HLA-DR (P < 0.05) and CD4+ CD45RO+ (P < 0.05) cells. Serum BuChE activity exhibited positive correlation within the HP cohort with CD4+ CD25+ (P < 0.05), but not in GD and DM cohorts. Positive correlation between BuChE and a (presumptive) 'regulatory' T-cell phenotype in HP, but not GD or DM may indicate existence of protective detoxification mechanisms against oxidative stress in normal pregnancies.