Oral Microbiome and Immunity in Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Gestational diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a form of glucose intolerance that is first diagnosed during pregnancy. It is the most common pregnancy complication in Qatar. GDM rates continue to rise worldwide. It can increase the risk for other pregnancy complications, including cesarean section, pre-eclampsia, and fetal macrosomia. Long-term risks include obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) for both the mother and the baby later in life. The current screening and diagnostic method for GDM is the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), which is administered during the second trimester of pregnancy. The test has been criticized for its poor reproducibility, long duration, time of administration, and inconsistent diagnostic criteria. Some pregnant women were reported to have suffered nausea, vomiting, and fainting during the test. As a result, there is an urgent need for efficient and earlier screening methods. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the microbial, gene expression, and cytokine signatures for their potential role in predicting GDM. We have utilized a multi-omics approach through 16S rRNA sequencing, whole blood mRNA sequencing, and cytokine profiling to identify potential biomarkers for GDM. We identified several differentially abundant bacteria that were reported to be highly associated with periodontal disease, a known risk factor for GDM. Identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) included ones that were previously reported to be highly associated with diabetes, such as MTRNR2L1, MTND4P24, and CCZ1B. Multi-omics integration of the data showed high spatial separation between GDM and healthy controls. Hence, our study highlights the potential of multi-omics approaches in predicting GDM and paves the way for future biomarker discovery.