Human Placental Exosomes in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Carry a Specific Set of miRNAs Associated with Skeletal Muscle Insulin Sensitivity

The objective of this study was to investigate whether placental exosomes in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) carries a specific set of miRNAs associated with skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity. Exosomes were isolated from chorionic villi-conditioned media and plasma from normal and GDM pregnancies. A specific set of miRNAs was identified to be selectively enriched within exosomes when compared to their cells of origin indicating specific packaging of miRNAs into exosomes. In addition, miRNA expression varies in a consistent pattern in placenta, placental-derived exosomes, circulating exosomes and skeletal muscle in GDM. Overall design: miRNAs were profiled from exosomes and tissues using next generation seqeuencing (Illumina NextSeq 500 platform).