Galectin fingerprints first trimester maternal serum screening in metabolic pregnancy complications

Obesity is one of the most important health issues among pregnant women and is associated with increased risk of gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes mellitus and higher incidence of congenital defects. Galectins are β-galactoside-binding proteins with a critical role in pregnancy-associated processes and regulate major processes in cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders, such as obesity and diabetes. Dysregulation of galectins (e.g. gal-1 and gal-3) characterizes the onset of metabolic disorders during pregnancy. In this study, we investigate whether there is a shared maternal galectin fingerprint in the first trimester across pregnancy metabolic disorders. A retrospective cohort study of singleton pregnancies (n=80) that underwent their routine first-trimester ultrasound assessment was included. The following delivery outcomes were evaluated: healthy, gestational diabetes mellitus, adiposity and macrosomia. First trimester gal-1 maternal levels are increased in the circulation of the adiposity pregnant women group compared with healthy and macrosomia gestation. Gal-3 and gal-9 maternal levels remain unchanged across pregnancy metabolic disorders. Our results suggest that gal-1 potentially could help to identify women at risk of metabolic disorders early in pregnancy.