Serum levels of the myokine irisin are predicted by markers of insulin resistance during pregnancy and after delivery

Objective: Irisin has recently been introduced as a novel myokine which reverses visceral obesity and improves glucose metabolism in mice. Therefore, we investigated circulating levels of this myokine in women with and without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during pregnancy and after delivery. Methods: For this study, 78 women with GDM and 78 healthy, pregnant, gestational age-matched controls were recruited. In a subset of these patients (46 GDM, 43 controls), postpartal follow-up data (median duration after delivery: 4.5 years) were available. Circulating levels of irisin were quantified using a commercia…