Early gestational diabetes detection possible through maternal blood analysis, study suggests

06 Jun 2022 --- A new approach for detecting genetic material from the placenta in the blood of pregnant women could potentially identify the risk for gestational or pregnancy-related diabetes in the first trimester.

Researchers behind the study at the National Institutes of Health believe this approach could be used to identify patients who would benefit from preventive therapy before diabetes develops.

Gestational diabetes is usually discovered late in the second or early in the third trimester and refers to high blood sugar (glucose) during pregnancy.

“This study provides more evidence that gestational diabetes is a condition that begins developing far earlier than when currently clinically diagnosed,” says Dr. Sherin Devaskar, researcher and professor of pediatrics at David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, US.

“We are looking forward to this step toward the potential of more reliable and earlier diagnosis so that we may intervene before the development of adverse conditions for mother and baby that are often lifelong.”

A separate US study unveiled that consuming up to 100 mg of caffeine during pregnancy can prevent gestational diabetes by up to 47%.

Analyzing extracellular vesicles and micro-RNAs
The new approach isolates extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted into the placenta’s bloodstream. Micro-RNAs, the molecular scaffolding upon which proteins are formed, are found in EVs, which are membrane-bound sacs.

Researchers concluded that examining EVs for micro-RNAs could help detect gestational diabetes early in pregnancy.Cells, particularly those in the placenta, release EVs containing micro-RNAs and other genetic material. The placenta starts producing EVs into the maternal circulation at six weeks of pregnancy. The amount of EVs in the body increases throughout pregnancy, peaks in the third trimester, and then gradually decreases after delivery.

The micro-RNAs in the EVs of women who develop gestational diabetes later in life differ from those in other pregnant women and non-pregnant women, the study highlights. The researchers compared the micro-RNAs of EVs from three healthy non-pregnant women, seven healthy pregnancies and 14 people with gestational diabetes.

Details in the bloodwork
During the study, 296 micro-RNAs were found in EVs from pregnant individuals’ blood that was not found in non-pregnant participants’ blood. Additionally, 269 of the 296 micro-RNAs were more prevalent in patients who were later diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

Several 130 micro-RNAs were detected only in individuals diagnosed with gestational diabetes in the second trimester, while 45 were found only in those who did not develop the condition.

In the third trimester, 112 micro-RNAs were detected exclusively in persons with gestational diabetes and 28 micro-RNAs were discovered solely in participants without gestational diabetes.

Edited by Nicole Kerr