Effects of maternal hyperglysemia on fetal calcium metabolism in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Abstract

The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of maternal hyperglycemia on fetal calcium metabolism. In streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, maternal blood glucose levels during pregnancy were controlled by daily injection of NPH insulin or saline from day 3 to 21 of pregnancy. Serum concentrations of ionized calcium, PTH and calcitonin in fetuses from these rats were measured on day 21 of pregnancy. Fetal ionized calcium levels were negatively correlated with maternal mean blood glucose (MBG) in the groups of diabetic mothers whose MBG was higher than 220 240mg/dl of MBG. No correlation was noted between fetal PTH level and MBG. Fetal calcitonin level positively correlated with MBG in the groups whose MBG was lower than 220 240mg/dl, whereas a negative correlation was observed in the groups whose MBG was higher than 220 240mg/dl. These results suggest that hypersecretion of calcitonin in fetuses could be implicated in the pathogenesis of early neonatal hypocalcemia in infants of mild diabetic rats. [Adv Obstet Gynecol 48 (3): 173-176, 1996(H8.5)]