Fetal renal tubular function during late pregnancy and diabetes mellitus

The effect, if any, of diabetes mellitus on the fetal renal tubule has not been previously studied. The concentration of beta2 microglobulin in amniotic fluid is a marker of fetal renal tubular function and normally decreases with advancing gestation, implying increasing tubular function. This relationship was found to be disrupted in 12 diabetic pregnancies, suggesting that the fetal renal tubular cell may represent an example of altered fetal functional maturation occurring during diabetic pregnancy.