Longitudinal clinical and proteomic diabetes signatures in women with a history of gestational diabetes

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Abstract

We characterized the longitudinal serum protein signatures of women 6 and 10 years after having gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) to identify factors associated with the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and prediabetes in this at-risk post-GDM population, aiming to discover potential biomarkers for early diagnosis and prevention of T2D. Our study identified 75 T2D-associated serum proteins and 23 prediabetes-associated proteins, some of which were validated in an independent T2D cohort. Machine learning (ML) performed on the longitudinal proteomics highlighted protein signatures associated with progression to post-GDM diabetes. We also proposed prognostic biomarker candidates that were differentially regulated in healthy participants at 6 years postpartum who later progressed to having T2D. Our longitudinal study revealed T2D risk factors for post-GDM populations who are relatively young and healthy, providing insights for clinical decisions and early lifestyle interventions.

Authors

Heaseung Sophia Chung, Lawrence Middleton, Manik Garg, Ventzislava A. Hristova, Rick B. Vega, David Baker, Benjamin G. Challis, Dimitrios Vitsios, Sonja Hess, Kristina Wallenius, Agneta Holmäng, Ulrika Andersson-Hall