Circulating placental isoferritin in pregnant subjects with type I diabetes and gestational diabetes as compared with normal pregnant subjects

Placental isoferritin (PLF) is a protein that acts as a down-regulator of the immune response of mothers against their embryos. It is found in high levels in healthy pregnant women and inpatients with pathological conditions. Serum PLF was measured in 26 pregnant women with type I diabetes, 27 women with gestational diabetes and 146 healthy pregnant women. The women with type I diabetes had been under careful long-term follow-up up a multidisciplinary centre and were well controlled. The mean PLF level in the healthy pregnant women was log 1.62 ± 0.48 U mL^-1, which was significantly higher than that for the women with type I diabetes (log 1.44 ± 0.28 U mL^-1) and those with gestational diabetes (log 1.16 ± 0.523 U mL^-1). Although pregnancy in women with diabetes has been known to be associated with increased perinatal mortality and morbidity, the gestational outcome in these two carefully monitored groups was completely satisfactory. This is the first reported study of PLF levels in pregnant women with type I and gestational diabetes.