Objective: We reported that some metabolites during early pregnancy could predict subsequent development of gestational diabetes. In this study, to elucidate the metabolic status of pregnant women associated with glucose metabolism, we examined the association of the metabolomic profile and the glycohemoglobin (A1c) levels in Japanese pregnant women.
Research Design and Methods: This study was conducted with participants enrolled by the Center of Chiba Unit of the Japan Environment and Children’s Study. Of those, 237 participants were enrolled in this study. Metabolite levels of their serum obtained during early pregnancy were analyzed using hydrophilic interaction chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. To examine the association between A1c levels and metabolic profiles, we performed least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) regression. The study protocol was approved by the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of the Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University.
Results: Characteristics of participants were followed: age 32.0 (5.0) years, pre-gestational BMI 22.7 (4.6) kg/m2, A1c 5.09 (0.37) %. The association between their A1c levels and the metabolomic profiles, analyzed using lasso regression showed that nineteen metabolites were associated with A1c levels. Enrichment analysis revealed that the metabolites associated with A1c were related to ABC transporters, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, arginine and proline metabolism, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, and metabolic pathway.
Conclusion: Our results suggest the association of the serum metabolomic profile with the level of glycemia during pregnancy.
K. Sakurai: None. A. Eguchi: None. M. Watanabe: None. M. Yamamoto: None. C. Mori: None.
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; Japan Ministry of the Environment
