ABSTRACT
Objective:To detect the methylation level and mRNA expression level of peroxisome proliferator activated receptory-coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) gene in placental tissue of pregnant women with gestational diabetes (GDM) and to explore the relationship between them and fetal distress.Methods:A total of 174 pregnant women with GDM admitted to in our hospital from Jul. 2018 to Dec. 2019 were selected as the study objects, among which 78 pregnant women with fetal distress were selected as the fetal distress group; and 96 pregnant women with normal delivery and without fetal distress were the control group; during the same period, 82 normal pregnant women without GDM were selected as the healthy group. The methylation level of PGC-1α gene in placenta was detected by direct sequencing after DNA was treated with sodium bisulfite; the expression of PGC-1α mRNA in placenta was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) ; the levels of triglyceride (TG) , total cholesterol (TC) , low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured by automatic biochemical analyzer; the relationship between methylation frequency of PGC-1α gene and the expression level of PGC-1α mRNA was analyzed; and the influencing factors of fetal distress were analyzed.Results:PGC-1α gene methylation frequency and TG level were higher in the fetal distress group [ (25.42±7.31) %, (4.72±0.68) mmol/L] than in the control group [ (9.26±2.67) %, (4.31±0.64) mmol/L] and the healthy group [ (3.24±1.07) %, (4.33±0.72) mmol/L]. PGC-1α gene methylation frequency was higher in the control group than in the healthy group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05) ; PGC-1α mRNA expression level in fetal distress group (0.67±0.16) is lower than that in the control group (0.74±0.14) and healthy group (1.00±0.27) . PGC-1α mRNA expression level in control group was lower than that in healthy group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05) ; the methylation frequency of PGC-1α gene was negatively correlated with the expression level of PGC-1α mRNA in pregnant women with fetal distress ( r=-0.515, P<0.05) ; the methylation of PGC-1α gene was an independent risk factor for fetal distress ( P<0.05) , and the high expression of PGC-1α mRNA was the protective factor of fetal distress ( P<0.05) . Conclusion:DNA methylation level of PGC-1α gene in pregnant women with GDM is related to fetal distress, which may be the target of gene modification for fetal distress.