Trace elements and cell-mediated immunity in gestational and pre-gestational diabetes mellitus at third trimester of pregnancy

Objective. The aim of the study: To evaluate the correlations betweenZn2+, Cu2+, Mg2+, Se2+ and Cr3+ and alteration in T cell subsetsduring diabetic and normal pregnancy. Methods. The study involved63 women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GD) and 16 pregnantwomen with Type 2 diabetes and 48 healthy, non-pregnant womenwere included as controls. Ten ml of whole venous blood from eachparticipant was analyzed for electrolytes by atomic absorption; totalantioxidant activity, individual enzymatic antioxidants by spectrophotometry; and lymphocyte sub-populations by flow cytometry. Results. There were significant changes in lymphocyte sub-populations: Naïve T cells were decreased and memory T-cells and activated T cells(CD4+HLA-DR+, CD4+CD29+) were increased in diabetes in pregnancy.Zn2+ and Cr3+ deficiency were observed in Type 2 diabetics with an increase in Cu2+ in all pregnant cohorts. In healthy pregnantsubjects, CD4+-HLA-DR+ was increased in direct proportion to serumMg2+ (p