DETECTION OF NOX5 GENE METHYLATION IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD OF PATIENTS WITH GESTATIONAL DIABETES MELLITUS

Abstract

Objective To investigate the methylation status of the NOX5 gene in peripheral blood of patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and its association with GDM. Methods A total of 67 pregnant women who were diagnosed with GDM at the outpatient service of Department of Obstetrics in our hospital from 2020 to 2021 were enrolled as case group, and 87 healthy pregnant women with normal oral glucose tolerance test results during the same period of time were enrolled as control group. Methylation-specific PCR was used to determine the methylation status of the NOX5 gene, and according to the methylation status of the NOX5 gene, the pregnant women in the case group were further divided into positive subgroup with 44 women and negative subgroup with 23 women. According to the presence or absence of fetal distress or fetal macrosomia, 154 neonates were divided into distress group with 6 neonates and non-distress group with 148 neonates, as well as fetal macrosomia group with 11 neonates and non-fetal macrosomia group with 143 neonates. The methylation status of the NOX5 gene was analyzed in terms of its association with the general information and pregnancy outcome of the pregnant women with GDM. Results There was a significant difference in the constituent ratio of positive NOX5 gene methylation between the case group and the control group (65.67% vs 40.23%,χ2=9.807,P<0.05), and there were no significant differences between the positive subgroup and the negative subgroup in age, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the constituent ratio of positive NOX5 gene methylation between the distress group and the non-distress group and between the fetal macrosomia group and the non-fetal macrosomia group (P>0.05). Conclusion NOX5 gene methylation is often observed in pregnant women with GDM, but the methylation status of the NOX5 gene is not associated with the age, pre-pregnancy BMI, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose of pregnant women with GDM, and it is also not associated with fetal distress and fetal macrosomia.

Keywords

• diabetes, gestational|dna methylation|nadph oxidase 5|fetal distress|fetal macrosomia