A low-protein diet during pregnancy alters glucose metabolism and insulin secretion.

In pancreatic islets, glucose metabolism is a key process for insulin secretion, and pregnancy requires an increase in insulin secretion to compensate for the typical insulin resistance at the end of this period. Because a low-protein diet decreases insulin secretion, this type of diet could impair glucose homeostasis, leading to gestational diabetes. In pancreatic islets, we investigated GLUT2, glucokinase and hexokinase expression patterns as well as glucose uptake, utilization and oxidation rates.