A study conducted in a murine model with GDM induced by a high fat diet, showed that those who had GDM had a high placental inflammatory response evidenced by increased IL-1β and TNFα, and a higher degree of placental hypoxia denoted by an enhanced expression of inducible hypoxia factor-1α (HIF-1α) and VEGF-A. The gene discussed is VEGFA; the disease is gestational diabetes.