Effect of oxidative stress on heme oxygenase-1 expression in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus

The anti‑oxidative stress effect of heme oxygenase‑1 (HO‑1) expression is being increasingly studied. However, few studies regarding HO‑1 have been conducted in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). In the present study, HO‑1 expression was compared in peripheral blood mononuclear cells at 24‑28 weeks of pregnancy in patients with GDM and healthy females, to investigate the correlation between HO‑1 and oxidative stress by calculation of MDA content in the peripheral blood serum (thiobarbituric acid method), tested ROS (flow cytometry method), HO-1mRNA (RT-PCR method), and HO-1 protein (western blotting method) of Mononuclear cells. The results show that the levels of serum malonaldehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), HO‑1 mRNA and HO‑1 protein expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were higher in the GDM group than in the control group. Correlation analysis showed that the expression levels of HO‑1 protein were positively correlated with the HO‑1 mRNA expression levels (r=0.680; P=0.000), and the levels of ROS (r=0.572; P=0.000) and MDA (r=0.614; P=0.000). HO‑1 mRNA expression levels were found to positively correlate with the levels of MDA (r=0.451; P=0.010) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG; r=0.337; P=0.039). Partial correlation analysis demonstrated that, after removing the effects of body mass index, FPG and 2‑h plasma glucose, HO‑1 protein expression levels were positively correlated with the levels of HO‑1 mRNA expression (r=0.611; P=0.005), ROS (r=0.526; P=0.021) and MDA (r=0.519; P=0.015). These findings indicate that pregnant females with GDM may be protected against oxidative injury due to the induction of adaptive and compensatory expression of HO‑1 to guard against oxidative stress induced by high glucose levels.