Conclusions
The whole transcriptome profiles significantly differed in GDM placentas compared with the placentas of healthy pregnant women, which might be valuable for detecting novel ncRNAs, and providing new research insights into exploring the pathogenic mechanisms of GDM.
Methods
Six placenta samples from healthy pregnant women (n = 3) and GDM (n = 3) were collected to analyze the whole transcriptome profiles by high-throughput sequencing. Differentially expressed ncRNAs were further validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction on an independent set of normal (n = 20) and GDM (n = 20) placenta samples.
Results
A total of 2,817 microRNAs (miRNAs), 23,339 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and 9,513 circular RNAs (circRNAs) were identified. There were 290 differentially expressed ncRNAs in GDM placentas compared with the placentas of healthy pregnant women. Two miRNAs, 86 lncRNAs and 55 circRNAs were upregulated, while two miRNAs, 86 lncRNAs and 59 circRNAs were downregulated in GDM. The expression of the selected ncRNAs, which were further validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, was consistent with the sequencing results. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis showed that the major targets of these ncRNAs were associated with insulin resistance, and abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism. A GDM-related competing endogenous RNA network suggested the interactions between lncRNAs, circRNAs, messenger RNAs and miRNAs. Conclusions: The whole transcriptome profiles significantly differed in GDM placentas compared with the placentas of healthy pregnant women, which might be valuable for detecting novel ncRNAs, and providing new research insights into exploring the pathogenic mechanisms of GDM.