Title:Aromatase Enzyme Activity and Liver Receptor Homolog-1 Levels in
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
Volume: 19
Issue: 1
Author(s): Nihayet Bayraktar*, Hasip Tas, Mehmet Bayraktar, Ismail Koyuncu, İsmail Sarı and Hacer Uyanıkoğlu
Affiliation:
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Şanlıurfa, Turkey
Keywords:
Aromatase, liver receptor homolog-1, insulin, HbA1c, gestation, diabetes mellitus.
Abstract:
Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the prediabetes conditions
in which high blood sugar levels and body weight increase during pregnancy. The underlying molecular
and biochemical mechanisms of GDM have been poorly defined.
Introduction: Aromatase enzyme activity is responsible for the conversion of androgens to estrogens
and has a share in the regulation of body fat distribution and liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-
1), which plays a critical role in cholesterol transport, acid homeostasis, and steroidogenesis in
GDM patients. This study aims to determine the levels of aromatase enzyme and LRH-1 in GDM
patients and to investigate the relationship between the levels of aromatase enzyme and LRH-1
and the levels of insulin, HbA 1c and total cholesterol.
Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted over eleven months (September
2020 to July 2021). The study population was selected at Harran University Teaching and Research
Hospital. The study included 32 GDM patients and 32 healthy pregnants. The automated
assay measured serum fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, and insulin levels (AVIDA 1800 Chemistry
System; Siemens). Aromatase enzyme activity and LRH-1 levels were determined by using a
commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit.
Results: Aromatase activity decreased in GDM patients while LRH1 increased. Significant differences
in means levels of fasting blood glucose (p = 0.11), insulin (p = 0.001) and HbA1c (p = 0.001) between
the patients and control groups. There was a significant negative correlation between the levels of aromatase
and insulin (r = -370, p = 0.037). In addition, a positive significant correlation coefficient (r =
0.645, p = 0.001) was found between HbA1c and total cholesterol among the patients' group.
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that there is a negative relationship between aromatase activity
and insulin levels. Aromatase and LRH 1 may play a role in the pathogenesis of GDM, and the use
of LRH-1 agonists in treating the disease may be considered an alternative treatment in the future.
However, additional studies are required to reveal the possible functions of these two proteins in
GDM with their mechanisms.
