Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2018 Jan 31;10(2):163.
doi: 10.3390/nu10020163.

A Randomized Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial Investigating the Effect of Fish Oil Supplementation on Gene Expression Related to Insulin Action, Blood Lipids, and Inflammation in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus-Fish Oil Supplementation and Gestational Diabetes

Mehri Jamilian  1 , Mansooreh Samimi  2 , Naghmeh Mirhosseini  3 , Faraneh Afshar Ebrahimi  4 , Esmat Aghadavod  5 , Mohsen Taghizadeh  6 , Zatollah Asemi  7
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A Randomized Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial Investigating the Effect of Fish Oil Supplementation on Gene Expression Related to Insulin Action, Blood Lipids, and Inflammation in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus-Fish Oil Supplementation and Gestational Diabetes

Mehri Jamilian et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common complication of pregnancy, and it is mostly associated with postpartum diabetes, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. Fish oil (omega-3) supplementation has been shown to reduce the risk of different chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancers, though the evidence of its impact on gestational diabetes is scarce. Our goal in this study was to determine the effect of fish oil administration on gene expression related to insulin action, blood lipids, and inflammation in women with GDM. Participants with GDM (n = 40), aged 18-40 years, were randomized to take either 1000 mg fish oil capsules, containing 180 mg eicosapentaenoic acid and 120 mg docosahexaenoic acid (n = 20), or placebo (n = 20) twice a day for 6 weeks. Gene expression related to insulin, lipids, and inflammation was quantified in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of GDM women using Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) method. Results of RT-PCR indicated that omega-3 supplementation upregulated gene expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) (P = 0.04) in PBMCs of patients with GDM, compared with the placebo. In addition, gene expression of the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) (P < 0.001), interleukin-1 (IL-1) (P = 0.007), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) (P = 0.01) was downregulated in PBMCs of women with GDM, following omega-3 supplementation. No significant effect of omega-3 supplementation was indicated on gene expression of IL-8 in PBMCs of patients with GDM. Overall, fish oil supplementation for 6 weeks in women with GDM significantly improved gene expression of PPAR-γ, IL-1, and TNF-α, but not gene expression of IL-8.

Keywords: fish oil; gene expression; gestational diabetes; inflammation; insulin; lipid.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of patient flow diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of 6-week supplementation with omega-3 or placebo on expression ratio of PPAR-γ gene in PBMCs of GDM women.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of 6-week supplementation with omega-3 or placebo on expression ratio of LDLR gene in PBMCs of GDM women.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of 6-week supplementation with omega-3 or placebo on expression ratio of IL-1, IL-8, and TNF-α gene in PBMCs of GDM women.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Spaight C., Gross J., Horsch A., Puder J.J. Gestational diabetes mellitus. Endocr. Dev. 2016;31:163–178. - PubMed
    1. Zhou S.J., Yelland L., McPhee A.J., Quinlivan J., Gibson R.A., Makrides M. Fish-oil supplementation in pregnancy does not reduce the risk of gestational diabetes or preeclampsia. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2012;95:1378–1384. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.111.033217. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schiavone M., Putoto G., Laterza F., Pizzol D. Gestational diabetes: An overview with attention for developing countries. Endocr. Regul. 2016;50:62–71. doi: 10.1515/enr-2016-0010. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Retnakaran R., Shah B.R. Role of type 2 diabetes in determining retinal, renal, and cardiovascular outcomes in women with previous gestational diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Care. 2017;40:101–108. doi: 10.2337/dc16-1400. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lambrinoudaki I., Vlachou S.A., Creatsas G. Genetics in gestational diabetes mellitus: Association with incidence, severity, pregnancy outcome and response to treatment. Curr. Diabetes Rev. 2010;6:393–399. doi: 10.2174/157339910793499155. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources