Damage in nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA in pregnant women and newborns at different hyperglycemia levels

Abstract

Hyperglycemia causes generation of free radicals which leads to oxidative stress and DNA damage. This study will evaluate the damage in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of pregnant women and infants with different degrees of hyperglycemia. The pregnant women will receive 75g glucose tolerance test (GTT-75g) and glycemic profile (GP) between the 24th and 28th gestational weeks. According to the results, pregnant women will classified in: nondiabetic [ND; normal GTT-75g and GP], mild gestational hyperglycemia [MGH; normal GTT-75g and abnormal GP], gestational diabetes mellitus [GDM; abnormal GTT-75g and GP during pregnancy] and type 2 diabetes [DM2; abnormal GTT-75g before getting pregnant]. Maternal glycemic control will be evaluated by HbA1c levels (HPLC chromatography) and by glycemia mean performed in GP. DNA damages will be evaluated by gene-specified PCR (QPCR). The hypothesis is that hyperglycemia during pregnancy leads to oxidative stress resulting in hight rates of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA damage in both mothers and infants due to the presence of hyperglycemia and hypoxia in the intrauterine environment. (AU)