Hypoadiponectinemia has been widely observed in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). To investigate the causal role of hypoadiponectinemia in GDM, adiponectin gene knockout (Adipoq-/- ) and wild-type (WT) mice were crossed to produce pregnant mouse models with or without adiponectin deficiency. Adenoviral vector-mediated in vivo transduction was used to reconstitute adiponectin during late pregnancy. Results showed that Adipoq-/- dams developed glucose intolerance and hyperlipidemia in late pregnancy. Increased fetal body weight was detected in Adipoq-/- dams. Adiponectin reconstitution abolished these metabolic defects in Adipoq-/- dams. Hepatic glucose and triglyceride production rates of Adipoq-/- dams were significantly higher than those of WT dams. Robustly enhanced lipolysis was found in gonadal fat of Adipoq-/- dams. Interestingly, similar levels of insulin-induced glucose disposal and insulin signaling in metabolically active tissues in Adipoq-/- and WT dams indicated that maternal adiponectin deficiency does not reduce insulin sensitivity. However, remarkably decreased serum insulin concentrations were observed in Adipoq-/- dams. Furthermore, β-cell mass, but not glucose-stimulated insulin release, in Adipoq-/- dams was significantly reduced compared with WT dams. Together, these results demonstrate that adiponectin plays an important role in controlling maternal metabolic adaptation to pregnancy.
© 2017 by the American Diabetes Association.