Maternal and Placental DNA Methylation Changes Associated with the Pathogenesis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Peng Xu1, Shuai Dong1, Linlin Wu1

  • 1Department of Obstetrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China.

Nutrients
|January 8, 2023
PubMed

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an important metabolic complication of pregnancy, which affects the future health of both the mother and the newborn. The pathogenesis of GDM is not completely clear, but what is clear is that with the development and growth of the placenta, GDM onset and blood glucose is difficult to control, while gestational diabetes patients' blood glucose drops and reaches normal after placenta delivery. This may be associated with placental secretion of insulin-like growth factor, adipokines, tumor necrosis factor-α, cytokines and insulin resistance. Therefore, endocrine secretion of placenta plays a key role in the pathogenesis of GDM. The influence of DNA methylation of these molecules and pathway-related genes on gene expression is also closely related to the pathogenesis of GDM. Here, this review attempts to clarify the pathogenesis of GDM and the related maternal and placental DNA methylation changes and how they affect metabolic pathways.

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