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Microbiome and its relation to gestational diabetes

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Abstract

Purpose

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), the major endocrine pathology in pregnancy, has been associated with the development of an intense inflammatory process and increased insulin resistance. The maternal microbiota is involved in several metabolic functions; however, its role in GDM physiopathology remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the composition of the microbiota at different sites and evaluate its relationship with the occurrence of GDM.

Methods

This cross-sectional study recruited women in the third trimester of gestation with and without GDM. Oral, vaginal, and stool samples were evaluated using next-generation sequencing. We included 68 participants: 26 with and 42 without GDM.

Results

The analysis of the oral microbiome did not show significant differences in phyla and genus among the studied groups. In contrast, GDM patients presented a specific vaginal and intestinal microbiome composition, which was less diverse than those found in the control group, showing genera related to dysbiosis.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that changes in the composition of the vaginal and intestinal microbiome might be involved in the development of GDM. The follow-up of these patients in order to evaluate vaginal and intestinal samples after delivery may contribute to understanding the development of metabolic disease in women with previous GDM.

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Funding

This work was supported by the “Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)” ‘[grant numbers 444174/2014–1,303306/2016-5]’ and by the “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES)” - [“Finance Code 001]”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Rua Pedro de Toledo 669, 9 andar – 04939032, São Paulo, Brazil

    Ramon V. Cortez, Ana G. S. Ângelo, Rosiane Mattar & Silvia Daher

  2. Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analysis, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Av.Prof. Lineu Prestes 580- bloco 17- 05508000, São Paulo, Brazil

    Carla R. Taddei, Luiz G. Sparvoli & Marina Padilha

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  1. Ramon V. Cortez
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  2. Carla R. Taddei
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  3. Luiz G. Sparvoli
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  4. Ana G. S. Ângelo
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  5. Marina Padilha
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  6. Rosiane Mattar
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  7. Silvia Daher
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Correspondence to Silvia Daher.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Cortez, R.V., Taddei, C.R., Sparvoli, L.G. et al. Microbiome and its relation to gestational diabetes. Endocrine 64, 254–264 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-018-1813-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-018-1813-z

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