Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42343321›Full record

ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2026

Epigenetic and immunological alterations in umbilical cord blood of overweight/obese women with gestational diabetes mellitus: insights into DNA methylation signatures and immune cell dysregulation.

Jiawei Wang, Qiuling Chen, Anji Chen, Yunfan Zhang, Feng Yan, Le Wu, Xiang Hu, Changqiao You, Jun He

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Jiawei Wang *Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Regional Hereditary Birth Defects Prevention and Control, Changsha Hospital for Maternal & Child Health Care Affiliated to Hunan Normal University, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.
Qiuling Chen *Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Regional Hereditary Birth Defects Prevention and Control, Changsha Hospital for Maternal & Child Health Care Affiliated to Hunan Normal University, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.
Anji Chen *Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Regional Hereditary Birth Defects Prevention and Control, Changsha Hospital for Maternal & Child Health Care Affiliated to Hunan Normal University, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.
Yunfan ZhangThe National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Animal Peptide Drug Development, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.
Feng YanThe National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Animal Peptide Drug Development, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.
Le WuThe National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Animal Peptide Drug Development, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.
Xiang HuThe National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Animal Peptide Drug Development, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China. huxiang@hunnu.edu.cn.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3751-430X
Changqiao YouThe National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Animal Peptide Drug Development, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China. youcq@landfar.cn.
Jun HeHunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Regional Hereditary Birth Defects Prevention and Control, Changsha Hospital for Maternal & Child Health Care Affiliated to Hunan Normal University, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China. hejun280@hunnu.edu.cn.

Funding

Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Regional Hereditary Birth Defects Prevention and Control HPKL2023005Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China 2021JJ30444Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China 2021JJ70059Key Research and Development Program of Hunan Province 2024JK2139
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common pregnancy complication associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Epigenetic modifications may reflect intrauterine metabolic exposure and contribute to immune and metabolic alterations. This study aimed to explore DNA methylation profiles in umbilical cord blood from overweight and obese women with and without GDM.

methodsUmbilical cord blood samples from 30 overweight/obese pregnant women (with and without GDM) were analyzed using the Illumina 850 K methylation array to identify differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and regions (DMRs). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed to assess the functional relevance of methylation changes. Immune cell composition was estimated using deconvolution analysis and further examined in an independent single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) cohort. Lasso regression was applied to identify CpG sites associated with GDM status and construct a preliminary methylation-based classification model.

resultsA total of 23,331 hypermethylated and 29,501 hypomethylated DMPs were identified between women with and without GDM, with hypomethylation predominating. Enrichment analyses indicated associations with neurodevelopmental pathways, metabolic processes, immune regulation, and epigenetic modification. Immune deconvolution analysis suggested reduced proportions of CD4

conclusionThis exploratory study identifies distinct cord blood DNA methylation patterns associated with GDM in overweight/obese pregnancies. The findings suggest potential links between epigenetic alterations and immune cell composition in GDM-exposed offspring. The identified CpG signature warrants further validation in larger, prospective cohorts to determine its clinical applicability.

Indexed as

Diabetes, GestationalDNA MethylationEpigenesis, GeneticFetal BloodObesityOverweightAdultCpG IslandsFemaleHumansPregnancyCD4+ T cellsDNA methylationGestational diabetes mellitusOverweight/obesityUmbilical cord blood

Identifiers

PMID42343321
PMCPMC13551810

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.