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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mol. Biosci.
Sec. Metabolomics
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2024.1485587
This article is part of the Research Topic Omics in Endocrinology: from Biomarker Discovery to Targeting Therapeutic Strategies View all 4 articles

Untargeted Metabolomic Profiling of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Insights into Early Diagnosis and Metabolic Pathway Alterations

Provisionally accepted
Shereen M. Aleidi Shereen M. Aleidi 1,2*Hiba Al Fahmawi Hiba Al Fahmawi 3Reem H Almalki Reem H Almalki 4Maha Al Mogren Maha Al Mogren 4Mohammad Alwahsh Mohammad Alwahsh 5Muhammad Mujammami Muhammad Mujammami 6Michele Costanzo Michele Costanzo 7,8Anas Abdel Raman Anas Abdel Raman 4,9*
  • 1 Department of Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Aljubeiha, Jordan
  • 2 Department of Medicial Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
  • 3 1Department of Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Aljubeiha, Jordan
  • 4 Metabolomics Section, Department of Clinical Genomics, Center for Genomics Medicine,, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 5 Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman, Amman, Jordan
  • 6 Endocrinology and Diabetes Unit, Department of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 7 Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Campania, Italy
  • 8 CEINGE Advanced Biotechnologies, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Campania, Italy
  • 9 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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

    Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a metabolic disorder marked by hyperglycemia that can negatively affect both mothers and newborns. The increasing prevalence of GDM and the limitations associated with the standard diagnostic test highlight the urgent need for early screening strategies that promote timely interventions. This study aims to investigate the metabolic profile associated with GDM through an untargeted metabolomic analysis using mass spectrometry (MS)based omics. Serum samples were collected from 40 pregnant women at weeks 24-28 of gestation based on the 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT); 50% were diagnosed with GDM (n=20), and the remaining were considered a control group. The results showed distinct metabolic differences between women with GDM and those without, with 222 significantly dysregulated metabolites, 120 up-and 102 down-regulated in GDM compared to the control group. Key metabolic pathways, such as tryptophan, inositol phosphate, phenylalanine, and histidine metabolism, were notably dysregulated in GDM. The study also found that specific metabolites, like N-Acetylproline and Serylmethionine, with area under the curve (AUC) of 0.978 and 0.968, respectively, showed high accuracy in distinguishing between GDM and non-GDM women. This study would enhance our understanding of metabolic alterations in GDM and could contribute to early prediction and management strategies.

    Keywords: gestational diabetes, Pregnancy, Untargeted metabolomics profiling, biomarkers, diagnosis

    Received: 24 Aug 2024; Accepted: 29 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Aleidi, Al Fahmawi, Almalki, Al Mogren, Alwahsh, Mujammami, Costanzo and Abdel Raman. 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:
    Shereen M. Aleidi, Department of Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Aljubeiha, Jordan
    Anas Abdel Raman, Metabolomics Section, Department of Clinical Genomics, Center for Genomics Medicine,, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, 12713, Saudi Arabia

    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.