Biomolecular characterization of placental tissues in gestational diabetes mellitus using Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common complication during pregnancy. It could cause severe side-effect on the mother's and newborn's heath in the short- and long-term. Prevalence has been increasing over time, likely due to increases in mean maternal age and body weight. However, how GDM affects the placenta structure and function are still unclear. Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy is well suited to study biological samples, such as tissues and cells. Biomolecules of human tissues have characteristic absorptions in mid-infrared range. In this study, Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy was used to measure unfixed placental tissue sections from women with GDM and matched controls. The molecular composition of different type of placental tissue sections were further analyzed with principle component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The major spectral characteristic of biomolecules in GDM placental tissue and control group were compared. The conformational change of lipid chains and higher level of lipid oxidation were found for placental tissues from GDM pregnancies. The increase of proteins beta-sheet structures relative to the alpha-helix structures in the GDM placental tissues were also found. The fingerprint region showed the variances of carbohydrates, nucleic acids and phospholipids between GDM and control group placental tissues. These findings are helpful for understanding how GDM affects placenta's biochemical composition and how GDM causes maternal and fetal metabolism changes. This study also provides a new approach to investigating biomolecular composition of samples from GDM pregnancy through spectroscopic method. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common complication during pregnancy that can have severe effects on the health of the mother and newborn. This study used Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy to analyze the biochemical composition of GDM placental tissue and found changes in lipid conformation, increased lipid oxidation, and alterations in protein structure. These findings provide insight into how GDM affects the placenta and causes metabolic changes in the mother and fetus.