Abstract
Worldwide, gestational diabetes affects 2–25% of pregnancies. Due to related disturbances of the maternal metabolism during the periconceptional period and pregnancy, children bear an increased risk for future diseases. It is well known that an aberrant intrauterine environment caused by elevated maternal glucose levels is related to elevated risks for increased birth weights and metabolic disorders in later life, such as obesity or type 2 diabetes. The complexity of disturbances induced by maternal diabetes, with multiple underlying mechanisms, makes early diagnosis or prevention a challenging task. Omics technologies allowing holistic quantification of several classes of molecules from biological fluids, cells, or tissues are powerful tools to systematically investigate the effects of maternal diabetes on the offspring in an unbiased manner. Differentially abundant molecules or distinct molecular profiles may serve as diagnostic biomarkers, which may also support the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies. In this review, we summarize key findings from state-of-the-art Omics studies addressing the impact of maternal diabetes on offspring health.
Highlights
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With the “central dogma of molecular biology” in mind that the genetic information of a biological system is encoded in the DNA and is transcribed to Ribonucleic acid (RNA), which are translated to functional proteins, controlling an organism’s metabolism (Figure 1), this review is focused on recent findings ofgenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics studies, addressing molecular changes in offspring after exposure togestational diabetes
We mainly focus on studies rerafalenneflddceticttniitssignssuugmeemsoslffoerrlcooeummcluadldraiicrfffhfceeahrrneaengnntegtsaeansoniboimmsbeasarellvrmmvedeoodddaeateltlbss)bi)riaatrnhtnhdd(i(i.iinen.e.,l.la,actcoteoerrrrddlliibffbeell.o.oooddssttuuddiieess, ffeettaall--ssiiddee ppllaacceennttaa, Figure 1
Summary
Reduced methylation level of LEP, contributing to cord blood leptin level regulation. Epivariation near the LPL locus correlated with anthropometric parameters (birth weight, mid-childhood weight, fat mass) of children at age 5 years. Altered methylation of the OR2L13 promoter (a gene associated with autism spectrum disorder) and of the gene body of CYP2E1 (which is upregulated in type 1 and type 2 diabetes). Methylated genes associated with type 1 diabetes mellitus, immune MHC, and neuron development. Methylated genes associated with type 2 diabetes, obesity, diabetic nephropathy or coronary heart disease. Differential methylation of several genes known to be associated with cardiometabolic traits; Accelerated epigenetic aging associated with cardiometabolic risk factors Methylation of SH3PXD2A was associated with multiple adiposity-related outcomes, including BMI, waist circumference, and circulating leptin levels
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