Correlation Analysis between GDM and Gut Microbial Composition in Late Pregnancy

Abstract

The prevalence of GDM is very high worldwide. The specific pathogenesis of GDM is currently not very clear. Recent research suggests that changes in the intestinal flora during pregnancy play a key role in it. Therefore, this study is aimed at exploring the characteristics of the intestinal flora of patients with gestational diabetes in the third trimester of pregnancy and at finding the intestinal flora with significant differences in healthy pregnant women to provide a basis for future clinical attempts of using intestinal microecological agents to treat gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We sequenced the V3-V4 regions of the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene from stool samples of 52 singleton pregnant women at >28 weeks of gestation. Our results showed that there were significant differences between the NOR group vs. GDM group and the G group vs. LG group among Bacteroides, Firmicutes, and Firmicutes/Bacteroides. At the species level, there were significant differences in the abundance of eight species in the NOR and GDM groups. Among them, the relative abundance of Clostridium_spiroforme, Eubacterium_dolichum, and Ruminococcus_gnavus was positively correlated with FBG, and Pyramidobacter_piscolens was negatively correlated with FBG, whereas there were significant differences in the abundance of five species in the G and LG groups. Functional analysis showed that there were differences in the biosynthesis and metabolism of polysaccharides, digestive system, classification, and degradation of the intestinal microbes between the NOR and GDM groups and between the G and LG groups. These results indicated that the gut microbes between GDM patients in the third trimester of pregnancy and healthy controls had essential characteristic changes and might be involved in the regulation of patients’ blood glucose levels.

Characteristics of the gut microbiome in women with gestational diabetes mellitus: A systematic review

“…In most studies, the GDM women were older than the controls ( Table 1 and Fig 3B , respectively), but only three studies reported a significant difference in age between the groups [ 52 , 56 , 58 ]. Five studies found a significantly higher pre-pregnancy BMI in the GDM women [ 52 , 54 , 58 , 60 , 63 ]. However, only 10 of the studies either matched their groups or adjusted for pre-pregnancy BMI and age when performing their analyses ( Table 1 ).…”

“…16S rRNA gene sequencing was applied to assess the gut microbiota in 18 studies, while three studies used metagenomic sequencing [ 45 , 52 , 56 ]. Different 16S rRNA variable regions were targeted in DNA sequencing, but the V3-V4 region was the most applied [ 40 , 49 – 51 , 53 , 54 , 57 , 59 ]. A variety of different databases were used to assign taxonomy, but the most used were SILVA [ 40 , 45 , 46 , 57 , 58 , 62 ] and Greengenes [ 12 , 48 , 51 , 54 , 55 , 59 ].…”

“…No consistency could be seen in diversity measurements. However, some tendencies could be seen regarding specific bacteria, as both genera Collinsella and Blautia were increased in the GDM group in three and four of the studies, respectively [ 54 , 58 , 60 ]. Additionally, genus Sutterella was reduced in the GDM women [ 54 , 60 ].…”

Dietary β-Carotene on Postpartum Uterine Recovery in Mice: Crosstalk Between Gut Microbiota and Inflammation

“…Results were expressed as means ± SD. The significant differences between groups were analyzed by one-way ANOVA tests, followed by Fisher' s least significant difference (LSD) tests with the SPSS statistical software (IBM SPSS Statistics, version 19). Probabilities that were <0.05 were regarded as significant.…”

“…Previous studies have suggested that pregnancy is associated with a significant alteration of the gut microbiota, which can affect the physiological state and metabolism of host ( 18 ). As a “metabolic organ,” gut microbiota undergo adaptive changes during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester ( 19 ). Gut microbiota can influence intestinal permeability, thereby promoting translocation of bacterial products to induce inflammation ( 20 ), which occurs throughout pregnancy ( 21 ).…”