Insulin antibodies in the maternal and foetal circulation of pregnant diabetic women treated with human insulin of recombinant DNA origin.

Thirteen diabetic women were treated with human insulin of recombinant DNA origin from early pregnancy. One patient previously treated with conventional beef insulin showed a steady fall in insulin antibody levels whilst those previously treated with purified porcine insulin or human insulin showed no changes in species-specific insulin binding or in antibody-bound insulin. Two women with gestational diabetes, who received insulin for the first time during pregnancy, developed insulin antibodies which declined when therapy was withdrawn in the post-partum phase. Insulin antibody was detectable in the foetal circulation in all pregnancies at parturition but did not seem to be associated with any deleterious effect on carbohydrate metabolism in the neonate. Human insulin of recombinant DNA origin is a satisfactory treatment for diabetic pregnancy, is preferable to the use of conventional beef insulins in these patients and may confer a lesser risk of neonatal hypoglycaemia than purified pork insulin.