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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Electrochemiluminescence Assays for Human Islet Autoantibodies
Published on: March 23, 2018
Butyrylcholinesterase activity in gestational diabetes: correlation with lymphocyte subpopulations in peripheral
Fadia F Mahmoud1, David D Haines, Habib T Abul
1Department of Medical laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kuwait University, Kuwait. fadia@hsc.edu.kw
Problem:
Inefficient clearance of pregnancy-threatening toxins may contribute to gestational diabetes (GD) and Type II diabetes mellitus (DM) through mechanisms involving immune dysregulation.
Method Of Study:
Peripheral venous blood from pregnant Kuwaiti women in third trimester, including 15 GD and 17 DM patients, 14 healthy pregnant (HP) and eight non-pregnant subjects, was analyzed by two-color flow cytometery for number and percentage representation of T lymphocytes. Buterylcholinesterase (BuChE) activity was measured using buterylthiocholine iodide and spectrophotometry.
Results:
Relative to HP, GD patients exhibited higher ratios of activated and memory phenotypes, including CD4+ CD25+ (P < 0.01), CD4+ HLA-DR (P < 0.05) and CD4+ CD45RO+ (P < 0.05) cells. Serum BuChE activity exhibited positive correlation within the HP cohort with CD4+ CD25+ (P < 0.05), but not in GD and DM cohorts.
Conclusions:
Positive correlation between BuChE and a (presumptive) 'regulatory' T-cell phenotype in HP, but not GD or DM may indicate existence of protective detoxification mechanisms against oxidative stress in normal pregnancies.
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