Abstract:Objective To investigate the relationship between serum amino acid levels and insulin resistance and pancreatic beta cell function in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) before and after glucose loading. Methods A total of 63 GDM patients and 58 normal pregnant women matched in age and gestational weeks were all from the obstetric clinic of our hospital. Serum samples were collected at 0?h, 1?h and 2?h during 75?g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) from 24 to 28 weeks of gestation. Serum insulin levels were determined by chemiluminescence method, and serum amino acid levels were determined by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Results Compared with normal pregnant women, GDM patients showed higher plasma concentrations of alanine (ALA), arginine (ARG), glycine (GLY), methionine (MET) before and after glucose loading (P?0.05), while higher plasma concentrations of leucine (LEU), phenylalanine (PHE), proline, tyrosine (TYR) and valine (VAL) only after glucose loading (P?0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that serum levels of alanine (rs?=?0.657 and 0.534), arginine (rs =?0.382 and 0.278), leucine (rs =?0.467 and 0.389), phenylalanine (rs =?0.506 and 0.398), proline (rs =?0.454 and 0.448), tyrosine (rs =?0.474 and 0.438) and valine (rs?=?0.464 and 0.399) were positively correlated with HOMA insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) (P?0.05), but not with HOMA-β (P?>?0.05); serum levels of ALA (rs =?0.343), LEU (rs =?0.275), PHE (rs?=?0.293) and PRO (rs =?0.387) were positively correlated with area under the curve of blood insulin (AUCI) before glucose loading (P?< 0.05). Conclusions There are some changes of amino acid levels in GDM patients before and after glucose loading, which are closely related to insulin resistance.