Published online Oct 15, 2022. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v13.i10.861
Peer-review started: March 26, 2022
First decision: June 11, 2022
Revised: June 25, 2022
Accepted: August 24, 2022
Article in press: August 24, 2022
Published online: October 15, 2022
Processing time: 202 Days and 0.1 Hours
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) places both the mother and offspring at high risk of complications. Increasing evidence suggests that the gut microbiota plays a role in the pathogenesis of GDM. However, it is still unclear whether the gut microbiota is related to blood biochemical traits, particularly glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), in GDM patients.
To explore the correlation between the gut microbiota and blood biochemical traits, particularly GLP-1, in GDM patients.
The V4 region of the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene was sequenced based on the fecal samples of 35 pregnant women with GDM and was compared to that of 25 pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT).
The results showed that Ruminococcaceae_UCG-002, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005, Clostri-dium_sensu_stricto_1, and Streptococcus were more abundant in the NGT group than in the GDM group. Bacteroides and Lachnoclostridium were more abundant in the GDM group than in the NGT group. Spearman’s correlation analysis was performed to identify the relationships between microbiota genera and blood biochemical traits. Paraprevotella, Roseburia, Faecalibacterium, and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-002 were significantly negatively correlated with glucose. Ruminococcaceae_UCG-002 was significantly negatively correlated with hemoglobin A1c. Bacteroides was significantly positively correlated with glucose. Sutterella, Oscillibacter, and Bifidobacterium were significantly positively correlated with GLP-1. A random forest model showed that 20 specific genera plus glucose provided the best discriminatory power, as indicated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.94).
The results of this study reveal novel relationships between the gut microbiome, blood bio-chemical traits, particularly GLP-1, and GDM status. These findings suggest that some genera are crucial for controlling blood glucose-related indices and may be beneficial for GDM treatment. Alteration in the microbial composition of the gut may potentially serve as a marker for identifying individuals at risk of GDM.
Core Tip: Increasing evidence suggests that the gut microbiota plays a role in the pathogenesis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, it is still unclear whether the gut microbiota is related to blood biochemical traits, particularly glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), in GDM patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the relationship between GLP-1 and the gut microbiota in patients with GDM, and this is the first report on the relationship between Paraprevotella, Roseburia, and Faecalibacterium and glucose in GDM, and the first report on the associations between GLP-1 and genera including Sutterella, Oscillibacter, and Bifidobacterium in GDM.