Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a severe global issue that requires immediate attention. MicroRNA expression abnormalities are possibly disease-specific and may contribute to GDM pathological processes. To date, there is limited data on miRNA profiling in GDM, especially that involves a longitudinal study. Here, we performed miRNA expression profiling in the entire duration of pregnancy (during pregnancy until parturition and postpartum) using a miRNA- polymerase chain reaction array (miRNA-PCRArray) and in-silico analysis to identify unique miRNAs expression and their anticipated target genes in Malay maternal serum. MiRNA expression levels and their unique potential as biomarkers were explored in this work. In GDM patients, the expression levels of hsa-miR-193a, hsa-miR-21, hsa-miR-23a, and hsa-miR-361 were significantly increased, but miR-130a was significantly downregulated. The area under the curve (AUC) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve study demonstrated that hsa-miR-193a (AUC = 0.89060 ± 04,470, P = 0.0001), hsa-miR-21 (AUC = 0.89500 ± 04,411, P = 0.0001), and miR-130a (AUC = 0.6939 ± 0.05845, P = 0.0025) had potential biomarker features in GDM. In-silico analysis also revealed that KLF (Kruppel-Like family of transcription factor), ZNF25 (Zinc finger protein 25), AFF4 (ALF transcription elongation factor 4), C1orf143 (long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 2869), SRSF2 (serine and arginine rich splicing factor 2), and ZNF655 (Zinc finger protein 655) were prominent genes targeted by the common nodes of miR23a, miR130, miR193a, miR21, and miR361.Our findings suggest that circulating microRNAs in the first trimester has the potential for GDM screening in the Malay population.

Gestational diabetes mellitus is a serious global problem and needs urgent attention. Aberrant microRNAs expression is potentially disease-specific and may contribute to GDM pathological processes. Even though GDM is diagnosed at the end of the second or beginning of the third trimester, there is no way to prevent pathological changes that may occur during the first and second trimesters. Therefore, to identify a specific miRNAs expression and their predicted target genes in maternal serum subjected with GDM in especially early stage, we performed miRNA expression profiling using miRNA PCR Array and in-silico analysis. In this study, demographic data and miRNAs expression levels and their specific potential as biomarkers were investigated. The findings showed that the expression levels of hsa-miR-193a, hsa-miR-21, hsa-miR-23a, and hsa-miR-361 are significantly upregulated while miR-130a is significantly downregulated in GDM patients. The ROC curve analysis revealed that hsa-miR-193a (AUC = 0.8906 ± 0.04470, P < 0.0001), hsa-miR-21(0.8950 ± 0.04411, P < 0.0001) and miR-130a (0.7222 ± 0.07450, P = 0.0083) have a potential biomarker characteristics in GDM. Furthermore, the in-silico analysis revealed that KLF, ZNF25, AFF4, C1orf143, SRSF2, and ZNF655 were prominent genes targeted by the common nodes of miR23, miR130, miR193, miR21, and miR361. Our findings imply that circulating microRNAs in the first trimester might be used as indicators for GDM.