Monocyte Adhesion to Decidual Endothelial Cells Is Increased in Pregnancies Complicated by Type 1 Diabetes but not by Gestational Diabetes
- Anoula Galettis, BSC1,
- Suzanne Campbell, BSC, PHD1,
- Jonathan M. Morris, MBBS, MMED, PHD, FRACOG1,
- Christopher J. Jackson, BSC, PHD2,
- Steven M. Twigg, MBBS, PHD, FRACP3 and
- Eileen D.M. Gallery, MD(SYD), FRACP1
- 1Kolling Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonards, Australia
- 2Institute of Bone and Joint Research, University of Sydney, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonards, Australia
- 3University of Sydney, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, Australia
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Professor Eileen Gallery, Level 3, Wallace Freeborn Building, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia. E-mail: eileeng{at}med.usyd.edu.au
Type 1 diabetes complicates ∼1 of every 200 pregnancies and gestational diabetes a further 2–3% of pregnancies (1). Systemic atheromatous vascular disease can develop or accelerate during diabetic pregnancy. We and others (2) have observed similar vascular lesions in placental bed vessels (Fig. 1A) associated with impaired placental function and fetal growth.
Genesis of atheroma involves adherence of peripheral blood monocytes to endothelium (3–5). To determine whether a similar process underlies the placental bed vasculopathy of diabetes, we examined cell adhesion in an in vitro coculture system using decidual endothelial cells from normal pregnancies and monocytes from both normal and diabetic pregnancies.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
This study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Royal North Shore Hospital. All subjects gave written informed consent.
Blood for monocyte isolation was collected from three groups of women, i.e., normal (control), type 1 diabetes (confirmed prepregnancy by a history of diabetic ketoacidosis and/or presence of anti-GAD antibodies), and gestational diabetes (n = 6 in each group) groups, in the third trimester of pregnancy.
Endothelial cells were isolated from decidual biopsies collected from a separate group of nine healthy pregnant women at elective lower-segment caesarean section (6 …
