Blood marker for beta cell loss that predicts type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes
Official title: Biomarker of Pancreatic B-cell Loss Predicting Progression to Type 2 Diabetes After Gestational Diabetes
Funded at Lsu Pennington Biomedical Research Ctr · NIH-11251957 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses a blood test after pregnancy to help tell women who had gestational diabetes whether they are likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Lsu Pennington Biomedical Research Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baton Rouge, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2023 |
| Project end | December 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $676,436 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK132011-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11251957 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults who were diagnosed with gestational diabetes and can provide blood samples starting about 6–12 weeks after delivery (and agree to follow-up) are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without prior gestational diabetes, men, or women who already have type 2 diabetes at the time of enrollment are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this work.
What this research studies
If you took part, researchers would measure unmethylated insulin (INS) DNA in your blood about 6–12 weeks after delivery and again years later to look for signals of pancreatic beta cell loss that appear before diabetes. The work combines data and samples from two large groups of women with prior gestational diabetes in the U.S. (SWIFT) and China (TGDM-O), totaling about 1,410 women, who had serial oral glucose tolerance tests and lab measurements over several years. Investigators will compare the INS DNA marker to glucose tests, HbA1c, insulin and clinical records to see whether early changes predict later type 2 diabetes. The project uses existing cohort participants and stored samples with long-term follow-up to study these patterns.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could give women who had gestational diabetes an early blood test to identify higher risk for type 2 diabetes and target prevention earlier.
How similar studies have gone: Related blood DNA markers of beta cell loss have shown promise in other diabetes research, but using unmethylated INS DNA to predict type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes is a relatively new application.
Where this research is happening
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Lsu Pennington Biomedical Research Ctr
Baton Rouge, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hu, Gang — Lsu Pennington Biomedical Research Ctr
- Study coordinator: Hu, Gang
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Identifying a biomarker to predict type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes
This study is looking at how a specific type of DNA related to insulin can help predict if women who had gestational diabetes are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on, by checking their blood samples and health over time.
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Subtyping Core for Research on the Causes of Type 2 Diabetes (SCORE-T2D)
A new U01 grant from a university research team aims to understand why Type 2 diabetes differs so much between people and how to tailor prevention and treatment.
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Michigan Diabetes Project: A Peer-Led Self-Management Program for Adults with Type 2 Diabetes
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Alzheimer’s and dementia risk in people with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes
This grant aims to understand why some older adults with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes develop memory problems or dementia.
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Personalized use of newer diabetes medicines for Type 2 diabetes
Aiming to tailor use of newer glucose-lowering drugs for people with type 2 diabetes to improve health and access in real-world settings.
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Digital twins of the hypothalamus, placenta, and gut to help manage gestational diabetes
A study using computer-based models of a pregnant person’s brain, placenta, and gut to better understand how gestational diabetes develops and how to tailor treatments.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.