Nuclear Magnetic Resonance-Assisted Metabolic Analysis of Plasma for Mild Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Patients

This study aimed at detecting the difference of metabolic profile in mild gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) patients, and at identifying the correlation between the disturbed metabolites and insulin resistance pathway induced by the inflammation factors secreted by the placenta and adipocytes.

Blood samples were collected from 36 pregnant women diagnosed with mild GDM and 36 normal glucose-tolerant (NGT) pregnant women. Metabolic profiles were acquired by using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) spectroscopy, and the data were analyzed by multivariate statistical data analysis. The messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of CX3CL1, CD14, and CD86 in placenta and omental adipose tissues was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

(1) Weight and body mass index in GDM group were remarkably higher at both pre-pregnancy and delivery than those in the NGT group. The levels of fasting blood glucose, insulin, and homeostasis model assessment-2 for insulin resistance in GDM group were also significantly higher than those in the NGT group. (2) The expression of mRNA of CD86 was significantly higher in placenta of GDM patients. However, the gene expression of CX3CL1 and CD86 in omental adipose tissues of GDM was markedly lower as compared with the control group. (3) The GDM group exhibited severely perturbed glucose metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and activated inflammatory response.

The ¹H-NMR-based metabonomics approach together with biochemical assay and the mRNA expression analysis provided metabolic information about mild GDM, which indicated disturbed glucose metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and activated inflammatory response in mild GDM patients. This integrated study provides a new idea and methods to understand underlying mechanisms of mild GDM in clinics.