Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Special Article
  • Published:

Unveiling the impact of maternal gestational diabetes mellitus on cord blood CD71+ erythroid cell transcriptome

Impact

  • This study reveals the effects of maternal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on the transcriptome of CD71+ erythroid cells (CECs) in cord blood.

  • It highlights the role of CECs in immunosuppressive function and identifies potential mechanisms linking GDM to adverse outcomes in offspring.

  • This understanding might lead to improved strategies for managing and preventing adverse outcomes in infants born to mothers with GDM.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Clustering of erythrocytes showing an impaired immunomodulatory function of CECs affected by maternal GDM.

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The raw scRNA-seq datasets in the FASTQ format with filtered barcode matrix have been uploaded to the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database: GSE212309. Other data generated and/or analyzed in this study are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.

References

  1. Yew, T. W. et al. A Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Effects of a Smartphone Application-Based Lifestyle Coaching Program on Gestational Weight Gain, Glycemic Control, and Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: The SMART-GDM Study. Diabetes Care 44(2), 456–463 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Ye, W. et al. Gestational diabetes mellitus and adverse pregnancy outcomes: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ 377, e067946 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Elahi, S. et al. Immunosuppressive CD71+ erythroid cells compromise neonatal host defence against infection. Nature 504(7478), 158–162 (2013).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Delyea, C. et al. CD71(+) Erythroid Suppressor Cells Promote Fetomaternal Tolerance through Arginase-2 and PDL-1. J. Immunol. 200(12), 4044–4058 (2018).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Elahi, S. et al. CD71(+) Erythroid Cells in Human Neonates Exhibit Immunosuppressive Properties and Compromise Immune Response Against Systemic Infection in Neonatal Mice. Front. Immunol. 11, 597433 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Xu, C. et al. Single-cell transcriptomic analysis identifies an immune-prone population in erythroid precursors during human ontogenesis. Nat. Immunol. 23(7), 1109–1120 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Bozorgmehr, N. et al. CD71(+) erythroid cells suppress T-cell effector functions and predict immunotherapy outcomes in patients with virus-associated solid tumors. J. Immunother. Cancer 11(5), e006595 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Dunsmore, G. et al. Erythroid Suppressor Cells Compromise Neonatal Immune Response against Bordetella pertussis. J. Immunol. 199(6), 2081–2095 (2017).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Elahi, S. & Mashhouri, S. Immunological consequences of extramedullary erythropoiesis: immunoregulatory functions of CD71(+) erythroid cells. Haematologica 105(6), 1478–1483 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Elahi, S. Neglected Cells: Immunomodulatory Roles of CD71(+) Erythroid Cells. Trends Immunol. 40(3), 181–185 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Dunsmore, G. et al. Lower Abundance and Impaired Function of CD71+ Erythroid Cells in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients During Pregnancy. J. Crohn’s Colitis 13(2), 230–244 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 82070812), the Science and Technology Innovation Program of Hunan Province(2020RC4044).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

All authors contributed to the manuscript preparation. M.Y. and X.L. codesigned the topics and research framework. M.Y., Y.Z. and X.Y.L contributed to the data analysis. M.Y. wrote the manuscript. X.L. revised the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xia Li.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yin, M., Zhang, Y., Li, X. et al. Unveiling the impact of maternal gestational diabetes mellitus on cord blood CD71+ erythroid cell transcriptome. Pediatr Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03139-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03139-x

Search

Quick links