Unravelling the Metabolic Underpinnings of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Comprehensive Mendelian Randomisation Analysis Identifying Causal Metabolites and Biological Pathways

Abstract

BackgroundGestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has a strong genetic predisposition. Integrating metabolomics with Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis offers a potent method to uncover the metabolic factors causally linked to GDM pathogenesis.ObjectivesThis study aims to identify specific metabolites and metabolic pathways causally associated with GDM susceptibility through a comprehensive MR analysis. Additionally, it seeks to explore the potential of these identified metabolites as circulating biomarkers for early GDM detection and risk assessment. Furthermore, it aims to evaluate the implicated metabolic pathways as potential therapeutic targets for preventive or interventional strategies against GDM.MethodsA two‐sample MR study was conducted using summary statistics from a metabolite genome‐wide association study (GWAS) of 8299 individuals and a GDM GWAS comprising 13,039 cases and 197,831 controls. Rigorous criteria were applied to select robust genetic instruments for 850 metabolites.ResultsMR analysis revealed 47 metabolites exhibiting putative causal associations with GDM risk. Among these, five metabolites demonstrated statistically significant associations after multiple‐testing correction: Beta‐citrylglutamate, Isobutyrylcarnitine (c4), 1,2‐dilinoleoyl‐GPC (18:2/18:2), Alliin and Cis‐3,4‐methyleneheptanoylcarnitine. Importantly, all these metabolites exhibited protective effects against GDM development. Additionally, metabolic pathway enrichment analysis implicated the methionine metabolism and spermidine and spermine biosynthesis pathways in the pathogenesis of GDM.ConclusionThis comprehensive MR study has robustly identified specific metabolites and metabolic pathways with causal links to GDM susceptibility. These findings provide novel insights into the metabolic underpinnings of GDM aetiology and offer promising translational implications. The identified metabolites could serve as potential circulating biomarkers for early detection and risk stratification, while the implicated metabolic pathways may represent therapeutic targets for preventive or interventional strategies against GDM.