miR-199a Is Upregulated in GDM Targeting the MeCP2-Trpc3 Pathway

The role of microRNAs in pregnancies complicated by maternal diabetes

With the global prevalence of diabetes increasing, more people of reproductive age are experiencing hyperglycaemic pregnancies. Maternal Type 1 (T1DM) or Type 2 (T2DM) diabetes mellitus, and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are associated with maternal cardiovascular and metabolic complications. Pregnancies complicated by maternal diabetes also increase the risk of short- and long-term health complications for the offspring, including altered fetal growth and the onset of T2DM and cardiometabolic diseases throughout life. Despite advanced methods for improving maternal glucose control, the prevalence of adverse maternal and offspring outcomes associated with maternal diabetes remains high. The placenta is a key organ at the maternal-fetal interface that regulates fetal growth and development. In pregnancies complicated by maternal diabetes, altered placental development and function has been linked to adverse outcomes in both mother and fetus. Emerging evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) are key molecules involved in mediating these changes. In this review, we describe the role of miRNAs in normal pregnancy and discuss how miRNA dysregulation in the placenta and maternal circulation is associated with suboptimal placental development and pregnancy outcomes in individuals with maternal diabetes. We also discuss evidence demonstrating that miRNA dysregulation may affect the long-term health of mothers and their offspring. As such, miRNAs are potential candidates as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in diabetic pregnancies at risk of adverse outcomes.

Epigenetic modifications of placenta in women with gestational diabetes mellitus and their offspring

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a pregnancy-related complication characterized by abnormal glucose metabolism in pregnant women and has an important impact on fetal development. As a bridge between the mother and the fetus, the placenta has nutrient transport functions, endocrine functions, etc., and can regulate placental nutrient transport and fetal growth and development according to maternal metabolic status. Only by means of placental transmission can changes in maternal hyperglycemia affect the fetus. There are many reports on the placental pathophysiological changes associated with GDM, the impacts of GDM on the growth and development of offspring, and the prevalence of GDM in offspring after birth. Placental epigenetic changes in GDM are involved in the programming of fetal development and are involved in the pathogenesis of later chronic diseases. This paper summarizes the effects of changes in placental nutrient transport function and hormone secretion levels due to maternal hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia on the development of offspring as well as the participation of changes in placental epigenetic modifications due to maternal hyperglycemia in intrauterine fetal programming to promote a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of placental epigenetic modifications on the development of offspring from patients with GDM.

The role of ncRNA regulatory mechanisms in diseases-case on gestational diabetes

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a class of RNA molecules that do not have the potential to encode proteins. Meanwhile, they can occupy a significant portion of the human genome and participate in gene expression regulation through various mechanisms. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a pathologic condition of carbohydrate intolerance that begins or is first detected during pregnancy, making it one of the most common pregnancy complications. Although the exact pathogenesis of GDM remains unclear, several recent studies have shown that ncRNAs play a crucial regulatory role in GDM. Herein, we present a comprehensive review on the multiple mechanisms of ncRNAs in GDM along with their potential role as biomarkers. In addition, we investigate the contribution of deep learning-based models in discovering disease-specific ncRNA biomarkers and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of ncRNA. This might assist community-wide efforts to obtain insights into the regulatory mechanisms of ncRNAs in disease and guide a novel approach for early diagnosis and treatment of disease.

The role of microRNAs in pathophysiology and diagnostics of metabolic complications in obstructive sleep apnea patients

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the most common sleep disorders, which is characterized by recurrent apneas and/or hypopneas occurring during sleep due to upper airway obstruction. Among a variety of health consequences, OSA patients are particularly susceptible to developing metabolic complications, such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus type 2. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) as epigenetic modulators are promising particles in both understanding the pathophysiology of OSA and the prediction of OSA complications. This review describes the role of miRNAs in the development of OSA-associated metabolic complications. Moreover, it summarizes the usefulness of miRNAs as biomarkers in predicting the aforementioned OSA complications.

Epigenetic regulation in metabolic diseases: mechanisms and advances in clinical study

Epigenetics regulates gene expression and has been confirmed to play a critical role in a variety of metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), osteoporosis, gout, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and others. The term 'epigenetics' was firstly proposed in 1942 and with the development of technologies, the exploration of epigenetics has made great progresses. There are four main epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modification, chromatin remodelling, and noncoding RNA (ncRNA), which exert different effects on metabolic diseases. Genetic and non-genetic factors, including ageing, diet, and exercise, interact with epigenetics and jointly affect the formation of a phenotype. Understanding epigenetics could be applied to diagnosing and treating metabolic diseases in the clinic, including epigenetic biomarkers, epigenetic drugs, and epigenetic editing. In this review, we introduce the brief history of epigenetics as well as the milestone events since the proposal of the term 'epigenetics'. Moreover, we summarise the research methods of epigenetics and introduce four main general mechanisms of epigenetic modulation. Furthermore, we summarise epigenetic mechanisms in metabolic diseases and introduce the interaction between epigenetics and genetic or non-genetic factors. Finally, we introduce the clinical trials and applications of epigenetics in metabolic diseases.