Abstract
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most common pregnancy-associated metabolic disorder that negatively impacts on the health of both mothers and their offspring in the long-term. The molecular mechanisms involved are not fully understood. As in other states of insulin resistance, a disproportionate immune response in GDM leads to a state of chronic low-grade inflammation. Galectin-2 exerts regulatory effects on different immune cells. This study investigated galectin-2 expression in the placenta of 40 GDM patients and 40 controls, in a sex-specific manner. Immunohistochemistry was used for semi-quantitative analysis of expression strength. The phenotypes of galectin-2 expressing cells were characterized through double immunofluorescence. We found a significant up-regulation of galectin-2 in the fetal syncytiotrophoblast, as well as in the maternal decidua of GDM placentas. Double staining showed a strong galectin-2 expression in extra villous trophoblast cells and fetal endothelial cells in GDM. These findings present the first systematic investigation of galectin-2 in GDM. The findings contribute to the emerging understanding of the role of immunomodulation and inflammation in GDM and of galectin-2 itself. This might also have implications for the long-term cardiovascular health of the offspring.
Highlights
Galectin proteins are those members of the large lectin family, which by definition contain a specific amino-acid sequence—the so-called carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD)—and bind the β-galactoside sugar domains [1,2]
16 different galectins have been identified in humans and the majority are expressed in placental tissue [8]
Galectins are major players in the regulation of immunomodulation and metabolism and their dysregulation takes up an important role in numerous pathologies, including Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)
Summary
Galectin proteins are those members of the large lectin family, which by definition contain a specific amino-acid sequence—the so-called carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD)—and bind the β-galactoside sugar domains [1,2]. In PE, molecular research has come as far as identifying galectin-13 ( known as placental protein-13 (PP-13)) as a clinically relevant predictive marker for the development of PE [25] Another pregnancy disorder showing galectin involvement is gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Our testing showed no significant difference between galectin-2 expression in subjects with low and normal BMI (
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