miRNAs as Predictive Factors in Early Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Ilona Juchnicka; Mariusz Kuźmicki; Magdalena Niemira; Agnieszka Bielska; Iwona Sidorkiewicz; Monika Zbucka-Krętowska; Adam Jacek Krętowski; Jacek Szamatowicz

doi:10.3389/fendo.2022.839344

miRNAs as Predictive Factors in Early Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 Mar 7:13:839344. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.839344. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Ilona Juchnicka¹, Mariusz Kuźmicki¹, Magdalena Niemira², Agnieszka Bielska², Iwona Sidorkiewicz², Monika Zbucka-Krętowska³, Adam Jacek Krętowski², Jacek Szamatowicz¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gynecology and Gynecological Oncology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.
² Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.
³ Department of Gynecological Endocrinology and Adolescent Gynecology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.

Abstract

Introduction: Circulating miRNAs are important mediators in epigenetic changes. These non-coding molecules regulate post-transcriptional gene expression by binding to mRNA. As a result, they influence the development of many diseases, such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Therefore, this study investigates the changes in the miRNA profile in GDM patients before hyperglycemia appears.

Materials and methods: The study group consisted of 24 patients with GDM, and the control group was 24 normoglycemic pregnant women who were matched for body mass index (BMI), age, and gestational age. GDM was diagnosed with an oral glucose tolerance test between the 24th and 26th weeks of pregnancy. The study had a prospective design, and serum for analysis was obtained in the first trimester of pregnancy. Circulating miRNAs were measured using the NanoString quantitative assay platform. Validation with real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed on the same group of patients. Mann-Whitney U-test and Spearman correlation were done to assess the significance of the results.

Results: Among the 800 miRNAs, 221 miRNAs were not detected, and 439 were close to background noise. The remaining miRNAs were carefully investigated for their average counts, fold changes, p-values, and false discovery rate (FDR) scores. We selected four miRNAs for further validation: miR-16-5p, miR-142-3p, miR-144-3p, and miR-320e, which showed the most prominent changes between the studied groups. The validation showed up-regulation of miR-16-5p (p<0.0001), miR-142-3p (p=0.001), and miR-144-3p (p=0.003).

Conclusion: We present changes in miRNA profile in the serum of GDM women, which may indicate significance in the pathophysiology of GDM. These findings emphasize the role of miRNAs as a predictive factor that could potentially be useful in early diagnosis.

Keywords: biomarkers; epigenetics; gestational diabetes; miR-142-3p; miR-144-3p; miR-16-5p; miRNA; serum profiling.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Circulating MicroRNA*
Diabetes, Gestational* / diagnosis
Diabetes, Gestational* / genetics
Early Diagnosis
Female
Humans
MicroRNAs* / metabolism
Pregnancy
Prospective Studies

Substances

Circulating MicroRNA
MicroRNAs