Expression profiles of placenta and umbilical cord blood with or without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)

Objective: To explore the characteristics and underlying molecular mechanisms of genome-scale expression profiles of women with- or without- GDM and their offspring. Materials and Methods: We recruited a group of 21 pregnant women with GDM and 20 healthy pregnant women as controls. For each pregnant women, RNA-seq were performed using the placenta and paired neonatal umbilical cord blood specimens. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified with BMI of pregnant women as covariates. Then, functional enrichment analysis was performed separately or interactively in placenta and umbilical cord blood. Results: Through the comparison of GDM and healthy samples, 1442 and 488 DEGs were identified from placenta and umbilical cord blood, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the placenta expression profiles of GDM women mirrored the molecular characteristics of type II diabetes and insulin resistance patients. DEGs illustrated significant overlaps among placenta and umbilical cord blood samples, and the overlapping DEGs were associated with endocrine resistance and insulin resistance. Conclusions: Our research demonstrated the transcriptomic alternations of GDM mothers and offspring. Our findings emphasized the importance of epigenetic modifications in the communication between pregnant women with GDM and offspring, and provided reference for the prevention, control, treatment, and intervention of perinatal deleterious events of GDM and neonatal complications. Overall design: RNA-seq of placenta and paired umbilical cord blood from 21 pregnant women with GDM and 20 healthy pregnant women