Poster Presentation Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society Annual Scientific Meeting 2016

The gut microbiome in overweight and obese women is associated with metabolic hormones in early pregnancy (#143)

Luisa F Gomez Arango 1 2 , Helen L Barrett 1 2 3 , David McIntyre 2 4 , Leonie K Callaway 2 3 , Mark Morrison 5 , Marloes Dekker Nitert 1 2 6
  1. UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia
  2. School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia
  3. Obstetric Medicine, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, QLD, Australia
  4. Obstetric Medicine, Mater Health Services, South Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  5. Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Woolongabba, QLD, Australia
  6. University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia

Introduction: Outside pregnancy, the gut microbiome modulates metabolic health and may affect insulin resistance and lipid metabolism. It is not clear whether this modulation occurs in pregnancy. The aim of this study was to reveal any relationships between gut microbiome composition and circulating metabolic hormones in overweight and obese pregnant women at 16 weeks gestation.

Methods: Gut microbiota composition in 29 overweight and 41 obese pregnant women was analysed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Fasting serum insulin, c-peptide, glucagon and adipokine concentrations were measured using multiplex ELISA.

Results: Overweight pregnant women had altered metabolic hormone levels and microbiome profiles from overweight pregnant women. Abundance of specific bacteria was correlated to changes in particular metabolic hormone levels: Adipokine levels were strongly positively correlated with Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae, which affect energy metabolism. Insulin and C-peptide were positively correlated with the genus Collinsella. In the overall gut microbime analyses, BMI was not associated with these bacteria.

Conclusions: This study shows that the gut microbiome composition is associated with the metabolic hormonal environment in overweight and obese pregnant women at 16 weeks gestation. Therefore metabolism in pregnancy may be modulated by manipulation of the gut microbiome.