Associations of Epigenetic methylation with vitamin D receptor level in Iraqi Gestational diabetes mellitus patients

Background :GDM (gestational diabetes mellitus) is a hazardous pregnancy situation that occurs when a pregnant woman who that have never had diabetes progresses to cause systemic hyperglycemia during their pregnancy.DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism it occurs in the vertebrate genomes and generates 5-methylcytosine by transferring a methyl group to the C5 position of cytosine. DNA methylation modulates gene expression by either attracting or preventing transcription factor(s) from binding to DNA.  Objective: The purpose of this study is to figure out the connection between VDR-gene promoter methylation in Iraqi GDM and its consequence on vitamin D levels. Materials and Methods: This investigation comprised 50 patients with GDM (Group 1) and 30 healthy pregnant individuals as controls (Group 2). Methylation was analyzed by extracted DNA using Bisulfite conversion and detected by a specific primer.  Results: The results of methylation effect on vitamin D3 expressed there were significant differences between methylated (25.74 ± 2.00) a percentage of 32(64.00%) of GDM samples compared with concentration (14.00±1.41) of methylated sample control at the percentage of observed results of methylation (1 (3.3%) at p-value (0.00) while the Un-methylated and partial methylate GDM samples did not produce any significant effect comparing with healthy controls. Conclusions: Due to the increased metabolic activity associated with pregnancy, it's imperative to keep glucose levels in balance. It is suspected that both genetic and epigenetic factors play a role in the development of GDM and that the underlying mechanisms are complex and alter over time. To create efficient treatments and preventative plans, a greater understanding of these mechanisms and how they affect GDM is needed.