Genetic variants and clinical relevance associated with gestational diabetes mellitus in Chinese women: a case-control study

New insight into the CNC-bZIP member, NFE2L3, in human diseases

Nuclear factor erythroid 2 (NF-E2)-related factor 3 (NFE2L3), a member of the CNC-bZIP subfamily and widely found in a variety of tissues, is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane-anchored transcription factor that can be released from the ER and moved into the nucleus to bind the promoter region to regulate a series of target genes involved in antioxidant, inflammatory responses, and cell cycle regulation in response to extracellular or intracellular stress. Recent research, particularly in the past 5 years, has shed light on NFE2L3's participation in diverse biological processes, including cell differentiation, inflammatory responses, lipid homeostasis, immune responses, and tumor growth. Notably, NFE2L3 has been identified as a key player in the development and prognosis of multiple cancers including colorectal cancer, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric cancer, renal cancer, bladder cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, pancreatic cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma. Furthermore, research has linked NFE2L3 to other cancers such as lung adenocarcinoma, malignant pleural mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, glioblastoma multiforme, and laryngeal carcinoma, indicating its potential as a target for innovative cancer treatment approaches. Therefore, to gain a better understanding of the role of NFE2L3 in disease, this review offers insights into the discovery, structure, function, and recent advancements in the study of NFE2L3 to lay the groundwork for the development of NFE2L3-targeted cancer therapies.

Genetic variation of six specific SNPs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among Chinese population

BACKGROUND

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic bronchitis (or) emphysema with a high disability and fatality rate. This study aimed to explore the correlation between the six selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the risk of COPD in the Chinese population.

METHODS

The Agena MassARRAY platform was used to select six SNPs from 629 subjects for genotyping. The correlation between SNPs and COPD risk was evaluated using calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multi-factor dimensionality reduction (MDR) was performed to analyze the impact of SNP interactions on COPD risk. Multiple comparisons were performed using Bonferroni- correction.

RESULTS

Our results indicated that rs4719841 and rs7934083 variants were associated with a reduced risk of COPD. The analysis results of age, gender and non-smokers showed that rs4719841 and rs7934083 were associated with reducing the risk of COPD. In addition, the results showed that the genetic models of rs4719841, rs7934083 and rs7780562 were related to the forced vital capacity, respiratory rate per second, and respiratory rate / forced vital capacity of COPD patients, respectively. The results of the MDR analysis showed that the three-locus model (rs4719841, rs7934083, and rs78750958) is the best for COPD risk assessment.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that rs4719841 and rs7934083 are associated with the risk of COPD in the Chinese population, which provides some insights for early screening, prevention, and diagnosis of COPD in high-risk populations.

Copy number variation as a tool for implementing pregnancy as an aging model

Copy number variations (CNV) are a major contributor to genome variability and have been linked to aging and other degradable phenotypes such as pregnancy physiology. To demonstrate how pregnancy can be used as a model of aging, we used CNVs from pregnant mice. Candidate CNVs were selected by applying case-control analysis in human centenarians compared with control groups. These CNVs were aligned with the mouse genome and their copy variation was assessed using qRT-PCR in liver and blood tissue samples from pregnant mice throughout pregnancy (baseline; first, second, and third trimester; post-partum). Eight of the ten selected CNVs demonstrated a significant decline/increase trend throughout the pregnancy followed by opposite direction soon after delivery in the liver and blood of the mouse tissues. Furthermore, significant differential expression was detected among the candidate CNVs' close vicinity genes (APA2A, LSS, RBDHF1, PLAAT1, and SCL17A2), but not in the WSCD2 gene. Establishing a genetic link between longevity and pregnancy is a significant step toward implementing the pregnancy process as a model for aging. These results in pregnant mice highlight the mechanism and similarities between pregnancy and aging. Investigating the mechanisms that cause such rejuvenation after labor could change our aging treatment paradigm.

Association of surfactant protein D gene polymorphism with susceptibility to gestational diabetes mellitus: a case-control study

Background

Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is a critical component of the innate immune system intrinsically linked to energy metabolism. However, the relationship of SP-D gene polymorphisms and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed SP-D gene polymorphisms in GDM patients and nondiabetic controls and then determined the association of SP-D gene polymorphisms with GDM.

Methods

We examined a common genetic polymorphism located in the SP-D coding region (rs721917, Met31Thr) in GDM patients (n = 147) and healthy pregnant controls (n = 97) by using a cleaved amplification polymorphism sequence-tagged sites (PCR–RFLP) technique. The level of SP-D protein in the serum of GDM patients and nondiabetic controls was determined by ELISA. The gene and allele frequencies of SP-D and their association with GDM as well as SP-D protein levels were analyzed and expressed as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).

Results

We found that there was a significant association of the SP-D polymorphism (rs721917) with GDM. The SP-D (T/T) genotype was found in 11.6% and 21.6% of GDM patients and matched healthy controls, respectively (odds ratio, 0.473; 95% confidence interval, 0.235–0.952; P = 0.033), indicating that women with the (T/T) genotype had a lower prevalence of GDM (OR = 0.473). Women with the T/C genotype showed an increased risk of GDM (odds ratio, 2.440; 95% confidence interval, 1.162–5.123; P = 0.017). We did not observe corrections between glucose homeostasis markers and SP-D genotypes in women with GDM. Furthermore, serum SP-D levels were higher in GDM patients than in matched healthy controls.

Conclusions

This study found the first evidence that an SP-D gene polymorphism (rs721917) was associated with GDM, which may provide the basis for further study on how SP-D plays a regulatory role in GDM.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12884-022-04541-1.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Southeast Asia: A Scoping Review

A rapid increase in the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has been associated with various factors such as urbanization, lifestyle changes, adverse hyperglycemic intrauterine environment, and the resulting epigenetic changes. Despite this, the burden of GDM has not been well-assessed in Southeast Asia. We comprehensively reviewed published Southeast Asian studies to identify the current research trend in GDM in this region. Joanna Briggs Institute’s methodology was used to guide the scoping review. The synthesis of literature findings demonstrates almost comparable clinical evidence in terms of risk factors and complications, challenges presented in diagnosing GDM, and its disease management, given the similarities of the underlying population characteristics in Southeast Asia. Evidence suggests that a large proportion of GDM risk in women may be preventable by lifestyle modifications. However, the GDM burden across countries is expected to rise, given the heterogeneity in screening approaches and diagnostic criteria, mainly influenced by economic status. There is an urgent need for concerted efforts by government and nongovernmental sectors to implement national programs to prevent, manage, and monitor the disease.

A Data-Driven Review of the Genetic Factors of Pregnancy Complications

Over the recent years, many advances have been made in the research of the genetic factors of pregnancy complications. In this work, we use publicly available data repositories, such as the National Human Genome Research Institute GWAS Catalog, HuGE Navigator, and the UK Biobank genetic and phenotypic dataset to gain insights into molecular pathways and individual genes behind a set of pregnancy-related traits, including the most studied ones—preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, and placental abruption. Using both HuGE and GWAS Catalog data, we confirm that immune system and, in particular, T-cell related pathways are one of the most important drivers of pregnancy-related traits. Pathway analysis of the data reveals that cell adhesion and matrisome-related genes are also commonly involved in pregnancy pathologies. We also find a large role of metabolic factors that affect not only gestational diabetes, but also the other traits. These shared metabolic genes include IGF2, PPARG, and NOS3. We further discover that the published genetic associations are poorly replicated in the independent UK Biobank cohort. Nevertheless, we find novel genome-wide associations with pregnancy-related traits for the FBLN7, STK32B, and ACTR3B genes, and replicate the effects of the KAZN and TLE1 genes, with the latter being the only gene identified across all data resources. Overall, our analysis highlights central molecular pathways for pregnancy-related traits, and suggests a need to use more accurate and sophisticated association analysis strategies to robustly identify genetic risk factors for pregnancy complications.

Epigenetic alteration of Rho guanine nucleotide exchange Factor 11 (ARHGEF11) in cord blood samples in macrosomia exposed to intrauterine hyperglycemia

Background: Macrosomia at birth is associated with maternal hyperglycemia and leads to subsequent susceptibility to obesity, abnormal glucose metabolism, hypertension, and dyslipidemia in offspring. Epigenetic reprogramming has been reported to be involved in the development of human diseases caused by suboptimal environmental or nutritional factors. The study was aiming to explore epigenetic mechanism influences on macrosomic infants exposed to intrauterine hyperglycemia. We performed a genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation in cord blood from macrosomic infants born to women with gestational diabetes in order to identify genes related to fetal growth or early adipose tissue development.Methods: To analyze the epigenetic patterns in umbilical cord blood in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), we collected umbilical cord blood from women with GDM (mean pregestational BMI of 24.4 kg/m² and mean neonatal birth weight of 4366 g) and normal glucose-tolerant women (mean pregestational BMI of 19.8 kg/m² and mean neonatal birth weight of 3166 g). Differentially methylated genes in the GDM group were identified using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip array.Results: A total of 1251 genes were differentially methylated compared to the controls (p < .01). The methylation microarray data showed that two specific CpG sites (cg12604331 and cg08480098) in the gene body of ARHGEF11 were significantly hypomethylated in the cord blood in macrosomic infants. Altered DNA methylation levels of ARHGEF11 were negatively correlated with glucose levels and neonatal birth weight.Conclusions: Exposure to adverse intrauterine environments can alter fetal development, such as by affecting the nutritional status of the fetus. Such exposure can also result in significant epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, which could serve as a potential marker for nutrition and metabolic conditions at the neonatal stage or even in the adult.

Prevalence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Eastern and Southeastern Asia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

AIM

To review the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in Eastern and Southeastern Asia.

METHODS

We systematically searched for observational studies on GDM prevalence from January 2000 to December 2016. Inclusion criteria were original English papers, with full texts published in peer-reviewed journals. The quality of included studies was evaluated using the guidelines of the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia. Fixed effects and random effects models were used to estimate the summary prevalence of GDM and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

A total of 4415 papers were screened, and 48 studies with 63 GDM prevalence observations were included in the final review. The pooled prevalence of GDM was 10.1% (95% CI: 6.5%-15.7%), despite substantial variations across nations. The prevalence of GDM in lower- or upper-middle income countries was about 64% higher than in their high-income counterparts. Moreover, the one-step screening method was twice more likely to be used in diagnosing GDM when compared to the two-step screening procedure.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of GDM in Eastern and Southeastern Asia was high and varied among and within countries. There is a need for international uniformity in screening strategies and diagnostic criteria for GDM.