Abstract: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), defined as a type of diabetes during pregnancy, is one common complication of gestation period and it will cause adverse consequences for mothers and their offspring with the development of the disease. MicroRNA is a class of small non-coding RNAs and regulate gene expression through post-transcriptional level. During pregnancy, a large number of miRNAs associated with gestational diabetes can be detected in maternal blood, which is secreted by the placenta and is stable in the mother′s blood. With the growth of the placenta during pregnancy, miRNAs secreted in the placenta can regulate cell differentiation, adhesion, metabolism, migration, proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis and physiological and pathophysiological processes of glucose metabolism. Through different miRNA detection methods, understanding the abnormally expressed miRNA in the gestational diabetes population can be used as a biomarker for screening specific markers of gestational diabetes. Review the expression of different miRNAs in GDM and the mechanism of effect on newborns.

Key words: Diabetes, gestational, MicroRNAs, Biological markers, Mechanism