Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in Mothers with a History of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Based on Postpartal Expression Profile of MicroRNAs Associated with Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases

Mothers with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have an increased risk of developing diabetes in the future and a lifelong cardiovascular risk. Postpartal expression profile of cardiovascular/cerebrovascular disease associated microRNAs was assessed 3–11 years after the delivery in whole peripheral blood of young and middle-aged mothers with a prior exposure to GDM with the aim to identify a high-risk group of mothers at risk of later development of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular/cerebrovascular diseases who would benefit from implementation of early primary prevention strategies and long-term follow-up. The hypothesis of the assessment of cardiovascular risk in women was based on the knowledge that a series of microRNAs play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular/cerebrovascular diseases. Abnormal expression profile of multiple microRNAs was found in women with a prior exposure to GDM (miR-1-3p, miR-16-5p, miR-17-5p, miR-20a-5p, miR-20b-5p, miR-21-5p, miR-23a-3p, miR-24-3p, miR-26a-5p, miR-29a-3p, miR-100-5p, miR-103a-3p, miR-125b-5p, miR-126-3p, miR-130b-3p, miR-133a-3p, miR-143-3p, miR-145-5p, miR-146a-5p, miR-181a-5p, miR-195-5p, miR-199a-5p, miR-221-3p, miR-342-3p, miR-499a-5p, and-miR-574-3p). Postpartal combined screening of miR-1-3p, miR-16-5p, miR-17-5p, miR-20b-5p, miR-21-5p, miR-23a-3p, miR-26a-5p, miR-29a-3p, miR-103a-3p, miR-133a-3p, miR-146a-5p, miR-181a-5p, miR-195-5p, miR-199a-5p, miR-221-3p, and miR-499a-5p showed the highest accuracy for the identification of mothers with a prior exposure to GDM at a higher risk of later development of cardiovascular/cerebrovascular diseases (AUC 0.900, p < 0.001, sensitivity 77.48%, specificity 93.26%, cut off >0.611270413). It was able to identify 77.48% mothers with an increased cardiovascular risk at 10.0% FPR. Any of changes in epigenome (upregulation of miR-16-5p, miR-17-5p, miR-29a-3p, and miR-195-5p) that were induced by GDM-complicated pregnancy are long-acting and may predispose mothers affected with GDM to later development of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular/cerebrovascular diseases. In addition, novel epigenetic changes (upregulation of serious of microRNAs) appeared in a proportion of women that were exposed to GDM throughout the postpartal life. Likewise, a previous occurrence of either GH, PE, and/or FGR, as well as a previous occurrence of GDM, is associated with the upregulation of miR-1-3p, miR-17-5p, miR-20a-5p, miR-20b-5p, miR-29a-3p, miR-100-5p, miR-125b-5p, miR-126-3p, miR-130b-3p, miR-133a-3p, miR-143-3p, miR-145-5p, miR-146a-5p, miR-181a-5p, miR-199a-5p, miR-221-3p, and miR-499a-5p. On the other hand, upregulation of miR-16-5p, miR-21-5p, miR-23a-3p, miR-24-3p, miR-26a-5p, miR-103a-3p, miR-195-5p, miR-342-3p, and miR-574-3p represents a unique feature of aberrant expression profile of women with a prior exposure to GDM. Screening of particular microRNAs may stratify a high-risk group of mothers with a history of GDM who might benefit from implementation of early primary prevention strategies.