Impact of LncRNA MALAT1 in the Placentas of Pre-pregnancy Overweight/Obese Women on Maternal and Infant Metabolism

Background Pre-pregnancy obesity can have a range of effects on both the mother and the fetus, possibly due to abnormalities in maternal-fetal metabolism. Therefore, exploring the mechanisms is essential to improve fetal prognosis. Objective To investigate the alterations of factors associated with obesity and glucose metabolism in the placentas of pregnant women with different BMI levels before pregnancy. Methods A total of 100 singleton pregnant women who delivered in Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University in 2019 were selected as the study subjects. The clinical data were collected based on the electronic medical record system. The subjects were divided into the low/normal body mass group (n=57) and overweight/obese group (n=43) based on their pre-pregnancy body mass. The expression of long non-coding RNA metastasis-associated Lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (LncRNA MALAT1), serum amyloid A3 (SAA3), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) mRNA in placental tissue were measured using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Results The age of the subjects ranged from 22 to 43 years, with an average age of (32.7±4.2) years, including 61 primiparas, 21 with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), 14 with low body mass, 43 with normal body mass, 26 with overweight, and 17 with obese. The proportion of GDM and neonatal body mass in the overweight/obese group was higher than that in the low/normal body mass group, and the weight gain during pregnancy was lower than that in the low/normal body mass group, with statistically significant differences (P