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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1461259

A nested case-control study on the association of gut virome in early pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus

Provisionally accepted
Xinrui Wu Xinrui Wu 1Xinpeng Liu Xinpeng Liu 1Wenbo Xu Wenbo Xu 1Wenhui Chen Wenhui Chen 1Zixin Zhong Zixin Zhong 2*Hongzhuan Tan Hongzhuan Tan 2*Tianyu Xiang Tianyu Xiang 2*
  • 1 School of Medicine, Jishou University, Jishou, China
  • 2 Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Recent studies have increasingly shown the connection between gut microbiome and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).However, no studies have explored the relationship between the gut virome and GDM, and the underlying mechanism remains unknown.We performed a nested case-control study within a follow-up cohort, enrolling 51 patients with GDM and 51 healthy controls. Shotgun metagenomics sequencing was used to explore gut virome profiles during early pregnancy.Results: Diversity analysis revealed no difference in the overall gut virome composition between two groups, however, we found greater abundance of Escherichia phage SH2026Stx1 (Q = 0.23), Enterobacteria phage mEp043 c-1 (Q = 0.21), crAssphage cr50_1 (Q = 0.21), Enterobacteria phage phi80 (Q = 0.21), and Escherichia phage HK106 (Q = 0.23) in GDM patients. Cross-kingdom correlation analysis showed the negative correlation between the gut bacterium Eubacterium eligens and three bacteriophages (Escherichia phage SH2026Stx1, Enterobacteria phage mEp043 c-1, and Escherichia phage HK106) in GDM group (r＜0, P＜0.05). Based on gut microbial features and clinical indicators, we constructed a new prediction model using random forest method for GDM with good predictive performance (AUC of 0.893, 95% CI: 0.736 ~ 0.990).This study is the first to investigate the relationship between the gut virome and GDM as well as the cross-kingdom correlation between gut viruses and bacteria in GDM. Our findings could enhance strategies for preventing and treating GDM from the perspective of gut microbiome, offering valuable insights into its pathogenesis.

    Keywords: gestational diabetes mellitus, Gut virome, Nested case-control study, gut microbiome, Cross-kingdom correlation, Prediction model

    Received: 09 Jul 2024; Accepted: 06 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wu, Liu, Xu, Chen, Zhong, Tan and Xiang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Zixin Zhong, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China
    Hongzhuan Tan, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China
    Tianyu Xiang, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.