Browsing by keyword "IGF-1"
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Association between First Trimester Pregnancy Associated Plasma Protein–A (PAPP-A) and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus DevelopmentBackground: Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a common pregnancy complication with significant cardiometabolic consequences for mothers and offspring. Previous research from our group suggests that adipose tissue IGFBP-5 and its unique metalloprotease PAPP-A (Pregnancy Associated Plasma Protein-A) may play mechanistic roles in GDM development by regulating functional IGF-1 levels and lipid storage and metabolism. Aim: To examine the relationship between circulating PAPP-A levels and GDM development. We hypothesized that high first trimester PAPP-A levels would be associated with decreased GDM risk. Methods: A retrospective cohort of women delivering singleton gestations at UMass Memorial Healthcare (2009, 2010, 2014, 2015) was assembled by abstracting electronic medical records. PAPP-A was measured in first trimester (11-14 weeks), and reported as quartiles of multiples of the mean (MoM) based on gestational age and adjusted for maternal weight and race/ethnicity. GDM diagnosis based on standard 2-step protocol (~24-28 weeks; failed 50g 1hr glucola screen then ≥2 abnormal values per Carpenter-Coustan criteria on 100g 3hr glucose tolerance test). Crude and multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models estimated the association between PAPP-A MoM quartiles and GDM. Results: Women (N=1,251) were 29.7 (SD:5.7) years old and 12.5 (SD:0.6) weeks gestation at PAPP-A measurement. 7.6% (n=95) developed GDM. Median PAPP-A MoM were 0.7 (inter-quartile range [IQR]=0.5-1.0) among women with GDM and 0.9 (IQR=0.6-1.3) among controls; 39% versus 23% were in the 1st quartile, respectively. After adjusting for pre-pregnancy body mass index, nuchal translucency, crown rump length, smoking status, and parity, women with PAPP-A MoM in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quartiles had 52% (OR=0.48, 95%CI=0.26-0.88), 45% (OR=0.55, 95%CI=0.30-0.99) and 73% (OR=0.27, 95%CI=0.13-0.53) lower odds of GDM compared to women in the 1st quartile. Conclusion: Higher PAPP-A MoM levels were associated with lower GDM risk. Future studies will assess whether higher PAPP-A levels are associated with enhanced IGF-1 signaling and improved pregnancy metabolic homeostasis.
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Characterization of viral insulins reveals white adipose tissue-specific effects in miceOBJECTIVE: Members of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) superfamily are well conserved across the evolutionary tree. We recently showed that four viruses in the Iridoviridae family possess genes that encode proteins highly homologous to human insulin/IGF-1. Using chemically synthesized single-chain (sc), i.e., IGF-1-like, forms of the viral insulin/IGF-1-like peptides (VILPs), we previously showed that they can stimulate human receptors. Because these peptides possess potential cleavage sites to form double chain (dc), i.e., more insulin-like, VILPs, in this study, we have characterized dc forms of VILPs for Grouper iridovirus (GIV), Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV) and Lymphocystis disease virus-1 (LCDV-1) for the first time. METHODS: The dcVILPs were chemically synthesized. Using murine fibroblast cell lines overexpressing insulin receptor (IR-A or IR-B) or IGF1R, we first determined the binding affinity of dcVILPs to the receptors and characterized post-receptor signaling. Further, we used C57BL/6J mice to study the effect of dcVILPs on lowering blood glucose. We designed a 3-h dcVILP in vivo infusion experiment to determine the glucose uptake in different tissues. RESULTS: GIV and SGIV dcVILPs bind to both isoforms of human insulin receptor (IR-A and IR-B) and to the IGF1R, and for the latter, show higher affinity than human insulin. These dcVILPs stimulate IR and IGF1R phosphorylation and post-receptor signaling in vitro and in vivo. Both GIV and SGIV dcVILPs stimulate glucose uptake in mice. In vivo infusion experiments revealed that while insulin (0.015 nmol/kg/min) and GIV dcVILP (0.75 nmol/kg/min) stimulated a comparable glucose uptake in heart and skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissue, GIV dcVILP stimulated 2-fold higher glucose uptake in white adipose tissue (WAT) compared to insulin. This was associated with increased Akt phosphorylation and glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4) gene expression compared to insulin in WAT. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that GIV and SGIV dcVILPs are active members of the insulin superfamily with unique characteristics. Elucidating the mechanism of tissue specificity for GIV dcVILP will help us to better understand insulin action, design new analogs that specifically target the tissues and provide new insights into their potential role in disease.

