High blood pressure during pregnancy linked to Type 2 diabetes

High blood pressure during pregnancy can result in increased risk for Type 2 diabetes in the offspring. To begin to understand the mechanism of this increased risk, the Regal lab in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and the Alejandro lab in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology have recently published an exciting collaborative study in the journal Diabetes entitled: “Critical Role for Macrophages in the Developmental Programming of Pancreatic β-cell Area in Offspring of Hypertensive Pregnancies.” The authors are Kate M. Root, Brian Akhaphong, Melissa A. Cedars, Alexa M. Molin, Margaretta E. Huchthausen, Connor F. Laule, Ronald R. Regal, Emilyn U. Alejandro, and Jean F. Regal. Their work highlights the important role immune cells play in maintaining the health of insulin producing cells in the pancreas of offspring born to pregnant people with high blood pressure during pregnancy. Such studies lay the groundwork for further mechanistic studies regarding the role of the immune system in developmental programming of Type 2 diabetes and its associated lifelong complications.

Link to Diabetes journal