This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an increasingly prevalent problem with important health and societal impact, yet controversies continue in the most elementary issues related to GDM. While clinical studies are assessing the effects of maternal hyperglycemia on subsequent development of obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease risk in the offspring, progress is hampered by the absence of a good experimental animal model. While clinicians report that frank gestational diabetes is rare in the monkey population at Yerkes, they are presented with only the most advanced cases. No systematic studies of glucose tolerance have been done in the captive population. During the year, we initiated a pilot project to identify pregnant female rhesus monkeys at risk for gestational diabetes. Of 10 females studied during pregnancy, three have serum glucose in excess of 160 mg/dl, clearly indicative of potential problems with glucose regulation. Data are being collected on a large number of rhesus females to better understand the incidence in our population The data generated in these studies will serve as the nucleus for grants submitted to the NIH (e.g. NICHD, NIDDK, NHLBI) and foundations, such as the American Diabetes Association and March of Dimes. The rhesus monkey model blends well with our concurrent study of human gestational diabetes and a two-species approach will provide a unique edge in national competitions.
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