Galectin Signature and Its Association with Insulin Sensitivity During Healthy Pregnancy

Pregnancy poses a challenge to the maternal metabolism and suboptimal adaptations can predispose individuals to metabolic and cardiovascular diseases in the future. Galectins are multifunctional regulators in pregnancy and may play roles in cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. In this study we investigated serum galectins (gal-1, gal-3, gal-9) in a well characterized healthy pregnancy cohort during an oral glucose test (OGTT) and assessed their associations with metabolic markers (including insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion). Galectins were measured by ELISA in maternal serum at 0 h, 1 h, 2 h post glucose load (75 g) during an OGTT at 24-28 gestational weeks in a healthy pregnancy cohort. Glucose, insulin and c-peptide were used to calculate insulin sensitivity/secretion indices. Our results showed that gal-1, gal-3 and gal-9 were significantly reduced from 0 h to 2 h post glucose load. Higher serum gal-1 at 0 h, 1 h, 2 h was associated with lower insulin sensitivity (Matsuda index) and higher insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Changes of serum galectins during an OGTT and the associations of gal-1 with glucose metabolism suggest that galectins play a role in regulating metabolic adpations during healthy pregnancy.