@article{3161153,
    title = "Circadian clock gene expression is impaired in gestational diabetes
mellitus",
    author = "Pappa, Kalliopi I. and Gazouli, Maria and Anastasiou, Eleni and and Iliodromiti, Zoe and Antsaklis, Aristides and Anagnou, Nicholas P.",
    journal = "Gynecological Endocrinology",
    year = "2013",
    volume = "29",
    number = "4",
    pages = "331-335",
    publisher = "TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD LONDON",
    issn = "0951-3590, 1473-0766",
    doi = "10.3109/09513590.2012.743018",
    keywords = "Circadian rhythms; clock genes; gestational diabetes mellitus;
glucosylated hemoglobin HbA(1c); type 2 diabetes",
    abstract = "Dysfunction of the circadian clock genes is involved in the development
of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Since gestational diabetes
mellitus (GDM) and T2D share common genetic and phenotypic features, in
the present study, we investigated the status of the circadian clock in
a cohort of 40 Greek pregnant women with GDM, four with T2D and 20
normal controls. Peripheral blood mRNA transcript levels of 10 clock
genes (CLOCK1, BMAL1, PERI, PER2, PER3, PPARA, PPARD, PPARG, CRY1 and
CRY2) were determined by real-time quantitative PCR. GDM patients
expressed significantly lower transcript levels of BMAL1, PER3, PPARD
and CRY2 compared to control women (p < 0.05). No significant difference
was documented between GDM women maintained either under insulin
treatment or diet. A positive correlation was found between the
expression of BMAL1 versus CRY2 (r = 0.45, p = 0.003) and BMAL1 versus
PPARD (r = 0.43, p = 0.004). Further investigation on the functional
relevance of these clock genes, disclosed that expression of PER3
correlated negatively with HbA(1c) levels (r = -0.36, p = 0.022). These
data document for the first time that the expression of BMAL1, PER3,
PPARD and CRY2 genes is altered in GDM compared to normal pregnant women
and support the notion that deranged expression of clock genes may play
a pathogenic role in GDM."
}