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Juvinao-Quintero DL, Sanchez SE, Workalemahu T, Pinto N, Liang L, Williams MA, Gelaye B. Genetic association study of preterm birth and gestational age in a population-based case-control study in Peru. J Neonatal Perinatal Med 2024:NPM230228. [PMID: 39302385 DOI: 10.3233/npm-230228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/22/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Preterm birth (PTB) affects ∼15 million pregnancies worldwide. Genetic studies have identified several candidate loci for PTB, but results remain inconclusive and limited to European populations. Thus, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of PTB and gestational age at delivery (GA) among 2,212 Peruvian women. METHODS PTB cases delivered≥20 weeks' but < 37 weeks' gestation, while controls delivered at term (≥37 weeks but <42 weeks). Multivariable regressions were used to identify genetic markers for PTB and GA (∼6 million SNPs), adjusting for maternal age and the first two genetic principal components. In silico functional analysis was conducted among top signals detected with an arbitrary P < 1.0×10-5 . We sought to replicate genetic markers for PTB and GA identified in Europeans, and we developed a genetic risk score for GA based on European markers. RESULTS Mean GA was 30 ± 4 weeks in PTB cases (N = 933) and 39 ± 1 in the controls (N = 1,279). No associatiosn were identified at genome-wide level. Nominal PTB variants were enriched for biological pathways associated with polyketide, progesterone, steroid hormones, and glycosyl metabolism. Nominal GA variants were enriched in intronic regions and cancer pathways. Variants in WNT4 associated with GA in Europeans were replicated in our study. A genetic risk score was associated with a 2-day longer GA (P = 0.002) in our sample. CONCLUSIONS This study identified various signals suggestively associated with PTB and GA in pregnant Peruvian women. None of these variants overlapped with signals previously identified in Europeans.
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Affiliation(s)
- D L Juvinao-Quintero
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - S E Sanchez
- Universidad de San Martin de Porres, Facultad de Medicina Humana, Instituto de Investigación, Lima, Peru
- Asociación Civil PROESA, Lima, Peru
| | - T Workalemahu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - N Pinto
- Asociación Civil PROESA, Lima, Peru
| | - L Liang
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - M A Williams
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - B Gelaye
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- The Chester M. Pierce, M.D. Division of Global Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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2
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Yaskolka Meir A, Wang G, Hong X, Hu FB, Wang X, Liang L. Newborn DNA methylation age differentiates long-term weight trajectories: the Boston Birth Cohort. BMC Med 2024; 22:373. [PMID: 39256781 PMCID: PMC11389437 DOI: 10.1186/s12916-024-03568-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 08/19/2024] [Indexed: 09/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gestational age (GEAA) estimated by newborn DNA methylation (GAmAge) is associated with maternal prenatal exposures and immediate birth outcomes. However, the association of GAmAge with long-term overweight or obesity (OWO) trajectories is yet to be determined. METHODS GAmAge was calculated for 831 children from a US predominantly urban, low-income, multi-ethnic birth cohort based on cord blood DNA methylation profile using Illumina EPIC array. Repeated anthropometric measurements aligned with pediatric primary care schedule allowed us to calculate body-mass-index percentiles (BMIPCT) at specific age and to define long-term weight trajectories from birth to 18 years. RESULTS GAmAge was associated with BMIPCT trajectories, defined by 4 groups: stable (consistent OWO: "early OWO"; constant normal weight: "NW") or non-stable (OWO by year 1 of follow-up: "late OWO"; OWO by year 6 of follow-up: "NW to very late OWO"). GAmAge differentiated between the group with consistently normal BMIPCT pattern and the non-stable groups with late and very late OWO development. Such differentiation was observed in the age periods of birth to 1year, 3years, 6years, 10years, and 14years (p < 0.05 for all). The findings persisted after adjusting for GEAA, maternal smoking, delivery method, and child's sex in multivariate models. Birth weight was a mediator for the GAmAge effect on OWO status for specific groups at multiple age periods. CONCLUSIONS GAmAge is associated with BMIPCT trajectories from birth to age 18 years, independent of GEAA and birth weight. If further confirmed, GAmAge may serve as an early biomarker for predicting BMI trajectory to inform early risk assessment and prevention of OWO. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03228875).
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Affiliation(s)
- Anat Yaskolka Meir
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Guoying Wang
- Center On Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Center On Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Frank B Hu
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospitaland, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Center On Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Liming Liang
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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Srivastava AK, Monangi N, Ravichandran V, Solé-Navais P, Jacobsson B, Muglia LJ, Zhang G. Recent Advances in Genomic Studies of Gestational Duration and Preterm Birth. Clin Perinatol 2024; 51:313-329. [PMID: 38705643 PMCID: PMC11189662 DOI: 10.1016/j.clp.2024.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity. For several decades, extensive epidemiologic and genetic studies have highlighted the significant contribution of maternal and offspring genetic factors to PTB. This review discusses the challenges inherent in conventional genomic analyses of PTB and underscores the importance of adopting nonconventional approaches, such as analyzing the mother-child pair as a single analytical unit, to disentangle the intertwined maternal and fetal genetic influences. We elaborate on studies investigating PTB phenotypes through 3 levels of genetic analyses: single-variant, multi-variant, and genome-wide variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit K Srivastava
- Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Nagendra Monangi
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Center for Prevention of Preterm Birth, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center Ohio Collaborative; Division of Neonatology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Vidhya Ravichandran
- Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA; Division of Neonatology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Pol Solé-Navais
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 100, Gothenburg 405 30, Sweden
| | - Bo Jacobsson
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 100, Gothenburg 405 30, Sweden; Department of Genetics and Bioinformatics, Health Data and Digitalization, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Lovisenberggata 8, Oslo 0456, Norway
| | - Louis J Muglia
- Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Center for Prevention of Preterm Birth, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center Ohio Collaborative; The Burroughs Wellcome Fund, 21 Tw Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Ge Zhang
- Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Center for Prevention of Preterm Birth, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center Ohio Collaborative.
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Tang ID, Mallia D, Yan Q, Pe'er I, Raja A, Salleb-Aouissi A, Wapner R. A Scoping Review of Preterm Birth Risk Factors. Am J Perinatol 2024; 41:e2804-e2817. [PMID: 37748506 DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1775564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
Preterm birth is a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality, but its etiology and risk factors are poorly understood. We undertook a scoping review to illustrate the breadth of risk factors for preterm birth that have been reported in the literature. We conducted a search in the PubMed database for articles published in the previous 5 years. We determined eligibility for this scoping review by screening titles and abstracts, followed by full-text review. We extracted odds ratios and other measures of association for each identified risk factor in the articles. A total of 2,509 unique articles were identified from the search, of which 314 were eligible for inclusion in our final analyses. We summarized risk factors and their relative impacts in the following categories: Activity, Psychological, Medical History, Toxicology, Genetics, and Vaginal Microbiome. Many risk factors for preterm birth have been reported. It is challenging to synthesize findings given the multitude of isolated risk factors that have been studied, inconsistent definitions of risk factors and outcomes, and use of different covariates in analyses. Novel methods of analyzing large datasets may promote a more comprehensive understanding of the etiology of preterm birth and ability to predict the outcome. KEY POINTS: · Preterm birth is difficult to predict.. · Preterm birth has many diverse risk factors.. · Holistic approaches may yield new insights..
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene D Tang
- Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Daniel Mallia
- Department of Computer Science, Hunter College, New York, New York
| | - Qi Yan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Itsik Pe'er
- Department of Computer Science, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Anita Raja
- Department of Computer Science, Hunter College, New York, New York
| | | | - Ronald Wapner
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York
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Jiang Y, Lai X, Liu Y, Yang C, Liu Z, Liu X, Yu T, Chen C, Khanniche A, Fan J, Lin Y, Zeng W. CD8 + T cells in fetal membranes display a unique phenotype, and their activation is involved in the pathophysiology of spontaneous preterm birth. J Pathol 2024; 262:240-253. [PMID: 38018407 DOI: 10.1002/path.6229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Preterm labor/birth is the leading cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity worldwide. Previous studies demonstrated that T cells were crucial for maintaining maternal-fetal immune tolerance during the first trimester of pregnancy; however, their phenotypes and functions in labor and delivery remain largely unknown. We recruited three cohorts of women at delivery for T-cell immunophenotyping in the placentas, fetal membranes, umbilical cord blood, and maternal peripheral blood. Our data showed a differential enrichment of T cells during the third trimester of human pregnancy, with CD4+ T cells being more observable within the umbilical cord blood, whereas CD8+ T cells became relatively more abundant in fetal membranes. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells derived from fetal membranes were dominated by effector memory T cells and exhibited extensive expression of activation markers but decreased expression of homing receptor. In comparison with term births, fetal membrane CD8+ T cells, especially the central memory subset, were significantly increased in frequency and showed more profound activation in spontaneous preterm birth patients. Finally, using an allogeneic mouse model, we found that T-cell-activation-induced preterm birth could be alleviated by the depletion of CD8+ T but not CD4+ T cells in vivo. Collectively, we showed that CD8+ T cells in fetal membranes displayed a unique phenotype, and their activation was involved in the pathophysiology of spontaneous preterm birth, which provides novel insights into the immune mechanisms of preterm birth and potential targets for the prevention of this syndrome. © 2023 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinan Jiang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Embryo Original Diseases, The International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Xintong Lai
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Embryo Original Diseases, The International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Yuxu Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Embryo Original Diseases, The International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Cheng Yang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China
| | - Zhicui Liu
- Department of Dermatology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Xiaorui Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Embryo Original Diseases, The International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Tiantian Yu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Embryo Original Diseases, The International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Cailian Chen
- Department of Automation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Key Laboratory of System Control and Information Processing, Ministry of Education of China, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Asma Khanniche
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Jianxia Fan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Embryo Original Diseases, The International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Yi Lin
- Reproductive Medicine Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Weihong Zeng
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Embryo Original Diseases, The International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China
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Reforma L, Greenberg S, Ledyard R, Burris H. Equitable Representation of Race, Ethnicity, and Ancestry Among Genomic Studies of Preterm Birth: A Systematic Review. Cureus 2024; 16:e53757. [PMID: 38465134 PMCID: PMC10921821 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.53757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
We conducted a systematic review of representation of race, ethnicity, and ancestry among genomic studies of preterm birth. Our data sources included CINHAL, EMBASE, MEDLINE (PubMed), and Scopus. Studies were included if they were human, genomic studies of preterm birth that analyzed greater than 1,000 genes and included race, ethnicity, and/or ancestry information. Two authors independently reviewed all abstracts and full-text manuscripts. Twelve studies were included. Ancestry was reported for 139,189 (93.6%) participants. Race was reported for 4,841 (3.3%) participants and ethnicity was reported for 7,154 (5.0%) participants. Of the 148,644 births represented in this systematic review, over 90% were reported to be of European ancestry, and race and ethnicity were not further described. When examining the smaller subset of individuals described by race alone, 2,444 individuals were identified as Black or African American and 1,853 were identified as White. Race, ethnicity, and ancestry were not reported in a uniform manner, which makes ascertainment of the genetic contribution to population differences in preterm birth inequities impossible. When reported as race, ethnicity and ancestry, Black or African American populations were under-represented among the studies in this review. Research of the genomics of preterm birth not only requires increased representation of populations that are disproportionately affected, but it also requires standardized reporting of race, ethnicity, and ancestry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liberty Reforma
- Obstetrics and Gynecology, Boston Medical Center, Boston, USA
| | - Simone Greenberg
- School of Public Health, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, USA
| | - Rachel Ledyard
- Biostatistics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Heather Burris
- Neonatology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA
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7
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Wang C, Wang YJ, Ying L, Wong RJ, Quaintance CC, Hong X, Neff N, Wang X, Biggio JR, Mesiano S, Quake SR, Alvira CM, Cornfield DN, Stevenson DK, Shaw GM, Li J. Integrative analysis of noncoding mutations identifies the druggable genome in preterm birth. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadk1057. [PMID: 38241369 PMCID: PMC10798565 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk1057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Preterm birth affects ~10% of pregnancies in the US. Despite familial associations, identifying at-risk genetic loci has been challenging. We built deep learning and graphical models to score mutational effects at base resolution via integrating the pregnant myometrial epigenome and large-scale patient genomes with spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) from European and African American cohorts. We uncovered previously unidentified sPTB genes that are involved in myometrial muscle relaxation and inflammatory responses and that are regulated by the progesterone receptor near labor onset. We studied genomic variants in these genes in our recruited pregnant women administered progestin prophylaxis. We observed that mutation burden in these genes was predictive of responses to progestin treatment for preterm birth. To advance therapeutic development, we screened ~4000 compounds, identified candidate molecules that affect our identified genes, and experimentally validated their therapeutic effects on regulating labor. Together, our integrative approach revealed the druggable genome in preterm birth and provided a generalizable framework for studying complex diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Wang
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yuejun Jessie Wang
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Lihua Ying
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ronald J. Wong
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Cecele C. Quaintance
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Norma Neff
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Joseph R. Biggio
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ochsner Health, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Sam Mesiano
- Department of Reproductive Biology, Case Western Reserve University and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Stephen R. Quake
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Cristina M. Alvira
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - David N. Cornfield
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - David K. Stevenson
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Gary M. Shaw
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jingjing Li
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
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8
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Juvinao-Quintero DL, Sanchez SE, Workalemahu T, Pinto N, Liang L, Williams MA, Gelaye B. Genetic association study of Preterm birth and Gestational age in a population-based case-control study in Peru. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.11.22.23298891. [PMID: 38045296 PMCID: PMC10690348 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.22.23298891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Preterm birth (PTB) is an adverse pregnancy outcome affecting ∼15 million pregnancies worldwide. Genetic studies have identified several candidate loci for PTB, but results remain inconclusive and limited to European populations. Thus, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of PTB and gestational age at delivery (GA) among 2,212 Peruvian women. PTB cases delivered ≥ 20 weeks' but < 37 weeks' gestation, while controls delivered at term (≥ 37 weeks but < 42 weeks). After imputation (TOPMED) and quality control, we assessed the association of ∼6 million SNPs with PTB and GA using multivariable regression models adjusted for maternal age and the first two genetic principal components. In silico functional analysis (FUMA-GWAS) was conducted among top signals detected with an arbitrary P < 1.0×10 -5 in each GWAS. We sought to replicate genetic associations with PTB and GA identified in Europeans, and we developed a genetic risk score for GA based on European markers. Mean GA was 30 ± 4 weeks in PTB cases (N=933) and 39 ± 1 in the controls (N=1,279). PTB cases were slightly older and had higher C-sections and vaginal bleeding than controls. No association was identified at genome-wide level. Top suggestive ( P < 1.0×10 -5 ) signals were seen at rs13151645 ( LINC01182 ) for PTB, and at rs72824565 ( CTNNA2 ) for GA. Top PTB variants were enriched for biological pathways associated with polyketide, progesterone, steroid hormones, and glycosyl metabolism. Top GA variants were enriched in intronic regions and cancer pathways, and these genes were upregulated in the brain and subcutaneous adipose tissue. In combination with non-genetic risk factors, top SNPs explained 14% and 15% of the phenotypic variance of PTB and GA in our sample, but these results need to be interpreted with caution. Variants in WNT4 associated with GA in Europeans were replicated in our study. The genetic risk score based in European markers, was associated with a 2-day longer GA (R 2 =0.003, P =0.002) per standard deviation increase in the score in our sample. This genetic association study identified various signals suggestively associated with PTB and GA in a non- European population; they were linked to relevant biological pathways related to the metabolism of progesterone, prostanoid, and steroid hormones, and genes associated with GA were significantly upregulated in relevant tissues for the pathophysiology of PTB based on the in- silico functional analysis. None of these top variants overlapped with signals previously identified for PTB or GA in Europeans.
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Si J, Meir AY, Hong X, Wang G, Huang W, Pearson C, Adams WG, Wang X, Liang L. Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, offspring epigenome-wide DNA methylation, and childhood obesity: findings from the Boston Birth Cohort. BMC Med 2023; 21:317. [PMID: 37612641 PMCID: PMC10463574 DOI: 10.1186/s12916-023-03003-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity is an established risk factor for childhood obesity. Investigating epigenetic alterations induced by maternal obesity during fetal development could gain mechanistic insight into the developmental origins of childhood obesity. While obesity disproportionately affects underrepresented racial and ethnic mothers and children in the USA, few studies investigated the role of prenatal epigenetic programming in intergenerational obesity of these high-risk populations. METHODS This study included 903 mother-child pairs from the Boston Birth Cohort, a predominantly urban, low-income minority birth cohort. Mother-infant dyads were enrolled at birth and the children were followed prospectively to age 18 years. Infinium Methylation EPIC BeadChip was used to measure epigenome-wide methylation level of cord blood. We performed an epigenome-wide association study of maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and cord blood DNA methylation (DNAm). To quantify the degree to which cord blood DNAm mediates the maternal BMI-childhood obesity, we further investigated whether maternal BMI-associated DNAm sites impact birthweight or childhood overweight or obesity (OWO) from age 1 to age 18 and performed corresponding mediation analyses. RESULTS The study sample contained 52.8% maternal pre-pregnancy OWO and 63.2% offspring OWO at age 1-18 years. Maternal BMI was associated with cord blood DNAm at 8 CpG sites (genome-wide false discovery rate [FDR] < 0.05). After accounting for the possible interplay of maternal BMI and smoking, 481 CpG sites were discovered for association with maternal BMI. Among them 123 CpGs were associated with childhood OWO, ranging from 42% decrease to 87% increase in OWO risk for each SD increase in DNAm. A total of 14 identified CpG sites showed a significant mediation effect on the maternal BMI-child OWO association (FDR < 0.05), with mediating proportion ranging from 3.99% to 25.21%. Several of these 14 CpGs were mapped to genes in association with energy balance and metabolism (AKAP7) and adulthood metabolic syndrome (CAMK2B). CONCLUSIONS This prospective birth cohort study in a high-risk yet understudied US population found that maternal pre-pregnancy OWO significantly altered DNAm in newborn cord blood and provided suggestive evidence of epigenetic involvement in the intergenerational risk of obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahui Si
- Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Anat Yaskolka Meir
- Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Center On the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Guoying Wang
- Center On the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Wanyu Huang
- Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Colleen Pearson
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - William G Adams
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Center On the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Liming Liang
- Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
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Liao J, Shenhav L, Urban JA, Serrano M, Zhu B, Buck GA, Korem T. Microdiversity of the vaginal microbiome is associated with preterm birth. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4997. [PMID: 37591872 PMCID: PMC10435516 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40719-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The vaginal microbiome has been associated with PTB, yet the mechanisms underlying this association are not fully understood. Understanding microbial genetic adaptations to selective pressures, especially those related to the host, may yield insights into these associations. Here, we analyze metagenomic data from 705 vaginal samples collected during pregnancy from 40 women who delivered preterm spontaneously and 135 term controls from the Multi-Omic Microbiome Study-Pregnancy Initiative. We find that the vaginal microbiome of pregnancies that ended preterm exhibited unique genetic profiles. It was more genetically diverse at the species level, a result which we validate in an additional cohort, and harbored a higher richness and diversity of antimicrobial resistance genes, likely promoted by transduction. Interestingly, we find that Gardnerella species drove this higher genetic diversity, particularly during the first half of the pregnancy. We further present evidence that Gardnerella spp. underwent more frequent recombination and stronger purifying selection in genes involved in lipid metabolism. Overall, our population genetics analyses reveal associations between the vaginal microbiome and PTB and suggest that evolutionary processes acting on vaginal microbes may play a role in adverse pregnancy outcomes such as PTB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingqiu Liao
- Program for Mathematical Genomics, Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
| | - Liat Shenhav
- Center for Studies in Physics and Biology, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Julia A Urban
- Program for Mathematical Genomics, Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Myrna Serrano
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Center for Microbiome Engineering and Data Analysis, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Bin Zhu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Center for Microbiome Engineering and Data Analysis, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Gregory A Buck
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Center for Microbiome Engineering and Data Analysis, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Department of Computer Science, School of Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Tal Korem
- Program for Mathematical Genomics, Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
- CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars program, CIFAR, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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Liao J, Shenhav L, Urban JA, Serrano M, Zhu B, Buck GA, Korem T. Microdiversity of the Vaginal Microbiome is Associated with Preterm Birth. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.13.523991. [PMID: 36711990 PMCID: PMC9882146 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.13.523991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The vaginal microbiome has been associated with PTB, yet the mechanisms underlying this association are not fully understood. Understanding microbial genetic adaptations to selective pressures, especially those related to the host, may yield new insights into these associations. To this end, we analyzed metagenomic data from 705 vaginal samples collected longitudinally during pregnancy from 40 women who delivered preterm spontaneously and 135 term controls from the Multi-Omic Microbiome Study-Pregnancy Initiative (MOMS-PI). We find that the vaginal microbiome of pregnancies that ended preterm exhibits unique genetic profiles. It is more genetically diverse at the species level, a result which we validate in an additional cohort, and harbors a higher richness and diversity of antimicrobial resistance genes, likely promoted by transduction. Interestingly, we find that Gardnerella species, a group of central vaginal pathobionts, are driving this higher genetic diversity, particularly during the first half of the pregnancy. We further present evidence that Gardnerella spp. undergoes more frequent recombination and stronger purifying selection in genes involved in lipid metabolism. Overall, our results reveal novel associations between the vaginal microbiome and PTB using population genetics analyses, and suggest that evolutionary processes acting on the vaginal microbiome may play a vital role in adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingqiu Liao
- Program for Mathematical Genomics, Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Liat Shenhav
- Center for Studies in Physics and Biology, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Julia A. Urban
- Program for Mathematical Genomics, Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Myrna Serrano
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Center for Microbiome Engineering and Data Analysis, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Bin Zhu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Center for Microbiome Engineering and Data Analysis, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Gregory A. Buck
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Center for Microbiome Engineering and Data Analysis, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Department of Computer Science, School of Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Tal Korem
- Program for Mathematical Genomics, Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars program, CIFAR, Toronto, Canada
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12
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Yaskolka Meir A, Huang W, Cao T, Hong X, Wang G, Pearson C, Adams WG, Wang X, Liang L. Umbilical cord DNA methylation is associated with body mass index trajectories from birth to adolescence. EBioMedicine 2023; 91:104550. [PMID: 37088033 PMCID: PMC10141503 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND DNA methylation (DNAm) in cord blood has been associated with various prenatal factors and birth outcomes. This study sought to fill an important knowledge gap: the link of cord DNAm with child postnatal growth trajectories from birth to age 18 years (y). METHODS Using data from a US predominantly urban, low-income, multi-ethnic birth cohort (N = 831), we first applied non-parametric methods to identify body-mass-index percentile (BMIPCT) trajectories from birth to age 18 y (the outcome); then, conducted epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of the outcome, interrogating over 700,000 CpG sites profiled by the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip. Multivariate linear regression models and likelihood ratio tests (LRT) were applied to examine the DNAm-outcome association in the overall sample and sex strata. FINDINGS We identified four distinct patterns of BMIPCT trajectories: normal weight (NW), Early overweight or obesity (OWO), Late OWO, and normal to very late OWO. DNAm at CpG18582997 annotated to TPGS1, CpG15241084 of TLR7, and cg24350936 of RAB31 were associated with BMIPCT at birth-to-3 y, 10 y, and 14 y, respectively (LRT FDR < 0.05 for all). INTERPRETATION In this prospective birth cohort study, we identified 4 distinct and robust patterns of growth trajectories from birth to 18 y, which were associated with variations in cord blood DNAm at genes implicated in inflammation induction pathways. These findings, if further replicated, raise the possibility that these DNAm markers along with early assessment of BMIPCT trajectories may help identify young children at high-risk for obesity later in life. FUNDING Detailed in the Acknowledgements section.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anat Yaskolka Meir
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 655 Huntington Avenue, Building II, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Wanyu Huang
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, John Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Tingyi Cao
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 655 Huntington Avenue, Building II, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, John Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Guoying Wang
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, John Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Colleen Pearson
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, 1 Boston Medical Center Pl, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - William G Adams
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, 1 Boston Medical Center Pl, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, John Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
| | - Liming Liang
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 655 Huntington Avenue, Building II, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 655 Huntington Avenue, Building II, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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13
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Wang G, Xu R, Zhang B, Hong X, Bartell TR, Pearson C, Liang L, Wang X. Impact of intrauterine exposure to maternal diabetes on preterm birth: fetal DNA methylation alteration is an important mediator. Clin Epigenetics 2023; 15:59. [PMID: 37029435 PMCID: PMC10082529 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-023-01473-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In utero exposure to diabetes has been shown to contribute to preterm birth, though the underlying biological mechanisms are yet to be fully elucidated. Fetal epigenetic variations established in utero may be a possible pathway. This study aimed to investigate whether in utero exposure to diabetes was associated with a change in newborn DNA methylation, and whether the identified CpG sites mediate the association between diabetes and preterm birth in a racially diverse birth cohort population. METHODS This study included 954 mother-newborn pairs. Methylation levels in the cord blood were determined using the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip 850 K array platform. In utero exposure to diabetes was defined by the presence of maternal pregestational or gestational diabetes. Preterm birth was defined as gestational age at birth less than 37 weeks. Linear regression analysis was employed to identify differentially methylated CpG sites. Differentially methylated regions were identified using the DMRcate Package. RESULTS 126 (13%) newborns were born to mothers with diabetes in pregnancy and 173 (18%) newborns were born preterm, while 41 newborns were born both preterm and to mothers with diabetes in pregnancy. Genomic-wide CpG analysis found that eighteen CpG sites in cord blood were differentially methylated by maternal diabetes status at an FDR threshold of 5%. These significant CpG sites were mapped to 12 known genes, one of which was annotated to gene Major Histocompatibility Complex, Class II, DM Beta (HLA-DMB). Consistently, one of the two identified significant methylated regions overlapped with HLA-DMB. The identified differentially methylated CpG sites mediated the association between diabetes in pregnancy and preterm birth by 61%. CONCLUSIONS In this US birth cohort, we found that maternal diabetes was associated with altered fetal DNA methylation patterns, which substantially explained the link between diabetes and preterm birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guoying Wang
- Center on Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205-2179, USA.
| | - Richard Xu
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Boyang Zhang
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Center on Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205-2179, USA
| | - Tami R Bartell
- Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Colleen Pearson
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Liming Liang
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Center on Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205-2179, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Robertson OC, Marceau K, Moding KJ, Knopik VS. Developmental pathways linking obesity risk and early puberty: The thrifty phenotype and fetal overnutrition hypotheses. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2022.101048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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15
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Changalidis AI, Maksiutenko EM, Barbitoff YA, Tkachenko AA, Vashukova ES, Pachuliia OV, Nasykhova YA, Glotov AS. Aggregation of Genome-Wide Association Data from FinnGen and UK Biobank Replicates Multiple Risk Loci for Pregnancy Complications. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13122255. [PMID: 36553520 PMCID: PMC9777867 DOI: 10.3390/genes13122255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 11/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Complications endangering mother or fetus affect around one in seven pregnant women. Investigation of the genetic susceptibility to such diseases is of high importance for better understanding of the disease biology as well as for prediction of individual risk. In this study, we collected and analyzed GWAS summary statistics from the FinnGen cohort and UK Biobank for 24 pregnancy complications. In FinnGen, we identified 11 loci associated with pregnancy hypertension, excessive vomiting, and gestational diabetes. When UK Biobank and FinnGen data were combined, we discovered six loci reaching genome-wide significance in the meta-analysis. These include rs35954793 in FGF5 (p=6.1×10-9), rs10882398 in PLCE1 (p=8.9×10-9), and rs167479 in RGL3 (p=5.2×10-9) for pregnancy hypertension, rs10830963 in MTNR1B (p=4.5×10-41) and rs36090025 in TCF7L2 (p=3.4×10-15) for gestational diabetes, and rs2963457 in the EBF1 locus (p=6.5×10-9) for preterm birth. In addition to the identified genome-wide associations, we also replicated 14 out of 40 previously reported GWAS markers for pregnancy complications, including four more preeclampsia-related variants. Finally, annotation of the GWAS results identified a causal relationship between gene expression in the cervix and gestational hypertension, as well as both known and previously uncharacterized genetic correlations between pregnancy complications and other traits. These results suggest new prospects for research into the etiology and pathogenesis of pregnancy complications, as well as early risk prediction for these disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton I. Changalidis
- Dpt. of Genomic Medicine, D.O. Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Reproductology, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Faculty of Software Engineering and Computer Systems, ITMO University, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Evgeniia M. Maksiutenko
- Dpt. of Genomic Medicine, D.O. Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Reproductology, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Dpt. of Genetics and Biotechnology, St. Petersburg State University, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Yury A. Barbitoff
- Dpt. of Genomic Medicine, D.O. Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Reproductology, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Dpt. of Genetics and Biotechnology, St. Petersburg State University, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Correspondence: (Y.A.B.); (A.S.G.)
| | - Alexander A. Tkachenko
- Dpt. of Genomic Medicine, D.O. Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Reproductology, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Elena S. Vashukova
- Dpt. of Genomic Medicine, D.O. Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Reproductology, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Olga V. Pachuliia
- Dpt. of Genomic Medicine, D.O. Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Reproductology, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Yulia A. Nasykhova
- Dpt. of Genomic Medicine, D.O. Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Reproductology, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Andrey S. Glotov
- Dpt. of Genomic Medicine, D.O. Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Reproductology, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Correspondence: (Y.A.B.); (A.S.G.)
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16
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Pearson C, Bartell T, Wang G, Hong X, Rusk SA, Fu L, Cerda S, Bustamante-Helfrich B, Kuohung W, Yarrington C, Adams WG, Wang X. Boston Birth Cohort Profile: Rationale and Study Design. PRECISION NUTRITION 2022; 1:e00011. [PMID: 36660305 PMCID: PMC9844822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
In 1998, the Boston Birth Cohort (BBC) was initiated at Boston Medical Center (BMC) in response to persistently high rates of preterm birth (PTB, defined as birth before 37 weeks of gestation) in the US population and the longstanding profound PTB disparity among Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). The BBC encompasses two linked study protocols: The Preterm Birth Study serves as the baseline recruitment in the BBC. It aims to address fundamental questions about the causes and consequences of PTB. The study oversamples preterm babies using a case/control study design, in which cases are defined as mothers who deliver a preterm and/or low birthweight baby (<2500 grams regardless of gestational age). Controls are enrolled at a 2:1 control/case ratio and matched by maternal age (±5 years), self-reported race and ethnicity, and date of delivery (± 7 days for case delivery). From inception, it was designed as a comprehensive gene-environmental study of PTB. As a natural extension, the Children's Health Study, under a separate but linked IRB protocol, is a longitudinal follow-up study of the participants who were recruited at birth in the Preterm Birth Study and who continue pediatric care at BMC. This linked model allows for investigation of early life origins of pediatric and chronic disease in a prospective cohort design. The BBC is one of the largest and longest NIH-funded prospective birth cohort studies in the US, consisting of 8733 mother-child dyads enrolled in the Preterm Birth Study at birth, and of those, 3,592 children have been enrolled in the Children's Health Study, with a median follow-up of 14.5 years. The BBC mirrors the urban, under-resourced and underrepresented BIPOC population served by BMC. A high proportion of BBC children were born prematurely and had chronic health conditions (e.g., asthma, obesity and elevated blood pressure) in childhood. The BBC's long-term goal has been to build a large, comprehensive database (epidemiological, clinical, multi-omics) and biospecimen repository to elucidate early life origins of pediatric and chronic diseases and identify modifiable upstream factors (e.g., psychosocial, environmental, nutritional) to improve health across the life course for BIPOC mothers and children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colleen Pearson
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Tami Bartell
- Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Guoying Wang
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Serena A. Rusk
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - LingLing Fu
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sandra Cerda
- Department of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Wendy Kuohung
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Christina Yarrington
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - William G. Adams
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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17
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Jain VG, Monangi N, Zhang G, Muglia LJ. Genetics, epigenetics, and transcriptomics of preterm birth. Am J Reprod Immunol 2022; 88:e13600. [PMID: 35818963 PMCID: PMC9509423 DOI: 10.1111/aji.13600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Preterm birth contributes significantly to neonatal mortality and morbidity. Despite its global significance, there has only been limited progress in preventing preterm birth. Spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) results from a wide variety of pathological processes. Although many non-genetic risk factors influence the timing of gestation and labor, compelling evidence supports the role of substantial genetic and epigenetic influences and their interactions with the environment contributing to sPTB. To investigate a common and complex disease such as sPTB, various approaches such as genome-wide association studies, whole-exome sequencing, transcriptomics, and integrative approaches combining these with other 'omics studies have been used. However, many of these studies were typically small or focused on a single ethnicity or geographic region with limited data, particularly in populations at high risk for sPTB, or lacked a robust replication. These studies found many genes involved in the inflammation and immunity-related pathways that may affect sPTB. Recent studies also suggest the role of epigenetic modifications of gene expression by the environmental signals as a potential contributor to the risk of sPTB. Future genetic studies of sPTB should continue to consider the contributions of both maternal and fetal genomes as well as their interaction with the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viral G. Jain
- Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Nagendra Monangi
- Division of Neonatology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Center for Prevention of Preterm Birth, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center Ohio Collaborative, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Ge Zhang
- Center for Prevention of Preterm Birth, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center Ohio Collaborative, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Louis J. Muglia
- Center for Prevention of Preterm Birth, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center Ohio Collaborative, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
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18
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Pearson C, Bartell T, Wang G, Hong X, Rusk SA, Fu L, Cerda S, Bustamante-Helfrich B, Kuohung W, Yarrington C, Adams WG, Wang X. Boston Birth Cohort profile: rationale and study design. PRECISION NUTRITION 2022; 1:e00011. [PMID: 37745944 PMCID: PMC9844822 DOI: 10.1097/pn9.0000000000000011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
In1998, the Boston Birth Cohort (BBC) was initiated at Boston Medical Center (BMC) in response to persistently high rates of preterm birth (PTB, defined as birth before 37 weeks of gestation) in the US population and the longstanding profound PTB disparity among Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). The BBC encompasses two linked study protocols: The PTB Study serves as the baseline recruitment in the BBC. It aims to address fundamental questions about the causes and consequences of PTB. The study oversamples preterm babies using a case/control study design, in which cases are defined as mothers who deliver a preterm and/or low birthweight baby (<2500 grams regardless of gestational age). Controls are enrolled at a 2:1 control/case ratio and matched by maternal age (±5 years), self-reported race and ethnicity, and date of delivery (± 7 days for case delivery). From inception, it was designed as a comprehensive gene-environmental study of PTB. As a natural extension, the Children's Health Study, under a separate but linked Institutional Review Board protocol, is a longitudinal follow-up study of the participants who were recruited at birth in the PTB Study and who continue pediatric care at BMC. This linked model allows for investigation of early life origins of pediatric and chronic disease in a prospective cohort design. The BBC is one of the largest and longest National Institutes of Health-funded prospective birth cohort studies in the United States, consisting of 8733 mother-child dyads enrolled in the PTB Study at birth, and of those, 3592 children have been enrolled in the Children's Health Study, with a median follow-up of 14.5 years. The BBC mirrors the urban, underresourced, and underrepresented BIPOC population served by BMC. A high proportion of BBC children were born prematurely and had chronic health conditions (e.g., asthma, obesity, and elevated blood pressure) in childhood. The BBC's long-term goal has been to build a large, comprehensive database (epidemiological, clinical, and multiomics) and biospecimen repository to elucidate early life origins of pediatric and chronic diseases and identify modifiable upstream factors (e.g., psychosocial, environmental, and nutritional) to improve health across the life course for BIPOC mothers and children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colleen Pearson
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tami Bartell
- Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Guoying Wang
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Serena A. Rusk
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - LingLing Fu
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sandra Cerda
- Department of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Wendy Kuohung
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Christina Yarrington
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - William G. Adams
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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19
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Braveman P, Dominguez TP, Burke W, Dolan SM, Stevenson DK, Jackson FM, Collins JW, Driscoll DA, Haley T, Acker J, Shaw GM, McCabe ERB, Hay WW, Thornburg K, Acevedo-Garcia D, Cordero JF, Wise PH, Legaz G, Rashied-Henry K, Frost J, Verbiest S, Waddell L. Explaining the Black-White Disparity in Preterm Birth: A Consensus Statement From a Multi-Disciplinary Scientific Work Group Convened by the March of Dimes. FRONTIERS IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH 2021; 3:684207. [PMID: 36303973 PMCID: PMC9580804 DOI: 10.3389/frph.2021.684207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2017-2019, the March of Dimes convened a workgroup with biomedical, clinical, and epidemiologic expertise to review knowledge of the causes of the persistent Black-White disparity in preterm birth (PTB). Multiple databases were searched to identify hypothesized causes examined in peer-reviewed literature, 33 hypothesized causes were reviewed for whether they plausibly affect PTB and either occur more/less frequently and/or have a larger/smaller effect size among Black women vs. White women. While definitive proof is lacking for most potential causes, most are biologically plausible. No single downstream or midstream factor explains the disparity or its social patterning, however, many likely play limited roles, e.g., while genetic factors likely contribute to PTB, they explain at most a small fraction of the disparity. Research links most hypothesized midstream causes, including socioeconomic factors and stress, with the disparity through their influence on the hypothesized downstream factors. Socioeconomic factors alone cannot explain the disparity's social patterning. Chronic stress could affect PTB through neuroendocrine and immune mechanisms leading to inflammation and immune dysfunction, stress could alter a woman's microbiota, immune response to infection, chronic disease risks, and behaviors, and trigger epigenetic changes influencing PTB risk. As an upstream factor, racism in multiple forms has repeatedly been linked with the plausible midstream/downstream factors, including socioeconomic disadvantage, stress, and toxic exposures. Racism is the only factor identified that directly or indirectly could explain the racial disparities in the plausible midstream/downstream causes and the observed social patterning. Historical and contemporary systemic racism can explain the racial disparities in socioeconomic opportunities that differentially expose African Americans to lifelong financial stress and associated health-harming conditions. Segregation places Black women in stressful surroundings and exposes them to environmental hazards. Race-based discriminatory treatment is a pervasive stressor for Black women of all socioeconomic levels, considering both incidents and the constant vigilance needed to prepare oneself for potential incidents. Racism is a highly plausible, major upstream contributor to the Black-White disparity in PTB through multiple pathways and biological mechanisms. While much is unknown, existing knowledge and core values (equity, justice) support addressing racism in efforts to eliminate the racial disparity in PTB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Braveman
- School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Tyan Parker Dominguez
- USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Wylie Burke
- University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Siobhan M. Dolan
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | | | | | - James W. Collins
- Northwestern University School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Deborah A. Driscoll
- University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Terinney Haley
- School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Julia Acker
- School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Gary M. Shaw
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Edward R. B. McCabe
- David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | | | - Kent Thornburg
- School of Medicine, Oregon State University, Portland, OR, United States
| | | | - José F. Cordero
- University of Georgia College of Public Health, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Paul H. Wise
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Gina Legaz
- March of Dimes, White Plains, NY, United States
| | | | | | - Sarah Verbiest
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
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20
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Spontaneous preterm birth: the underpinnings in the maternal and fetal genomes. NPJ Genom Med 2021; 6:43. [PMID: 34103530 PMCID: PMC8187433 DOI: 10.1038/s41525-021-00209-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Preterm birth (PTB) is a major cause of neonatal mortality and health complications in infants. Elucidation of its genetic underpinnings can lead to improved understanding of the biological mechanisms and boost the development of methods to predict PTB. Although recent genome-based studies of both mother and fetus have identified several genetic loci which might be implicated in PTB, these results suffer from a lack of consistency across multiple studies and populations. Moreover, results of functional validation of most of these findings are unavailable. Since medically indicated preterm deliveries have well-known heterogeneous causes, we have reviewed only those studies which investigated spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) and have attempted to suggest probable biological mechanisms by which the implicated genetic factors might result in sPTB. We expect our review to provide a panoramic view of the genetics of sPTB.
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21
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Hong X, Surkan PJ, Zhang B, Keiser A, Ji Y, Ji H, Burd I, Bustamante-Helfrich B, Ogunwole SM, Tang WY, Liu L, Pearson C, Cerda S, Zuckerman B, Hao L, Wang X. Genome-wide association study identifies a novel maternal gene × stress interaction associated with spontaneous preterm birth. Pediatr Res 2021; 89:1549-1556. [PMID: 32726798 PMCID: PMC8400921 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-020-1093-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Revised: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 06/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maternal stress is potentially a modifiable risk factor for spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB). However, epidemiologic findings on the maternal stress-sPTB relationship have been inconsistent. METHODS To investigate whether the maternal stress-sPTB associations may be modified by genetic susceptibility, we performed genome-wide gene × stress interaction analyses in 1490 African-American women from the Boston Birth cohort who delivered term (n = 1033) or preterm (n = 457) infants. Genotyping was performed using Illumina HumanOmni 2.5 array. Replication was performed using data from the NICHD genomic and Proteomic Network (GPN) for PTB research. RESULTS rs35331017, a T-allele insertion/deletion polymorphism in the protein-tyrosine phosphatase receptor Type D (PTPRD) gene, was the top hit that interacted significantly with maternal lifetime stress on risk of sPTB (PG × E = 4.7 × 10-8). We revealed a dose-responsive association between degree of stress and risk of sPTB in mothers carrying the insertion/insertion genotype, but an inverse association was observed in mothers carrying the heterozygous or deletion/deletion genotypes. This interaction was replicated in African-American (PG × E = 0.088) and Caucasian mothers (PG × E = 0.023) from the GPN study. CONCLUSION We demonstrated a significant maternal PTPRD × stress interaction on sPTB risk. This finding, if further confirmed, may provide new insight into individual susceptibility to stress-induced sPTB. IMPACT This was the first preterm study to demonstrate a significant genome-wide gene-stress interaction in African Americans, specifically, PTPRD gene variants can interact with maternal perceived stress to affect risk of spontaneous preterm birth. The PTPRD × maternal stress interaction was demonstrated in African Americans and replicated in both African Americans and Caucasians from the GPN study. Our findings highlight the importance of considering genetic susceptibility in assessing the role of maternal stress on spontaneous preterm birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiumei Hong
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Pamela J. Surkan
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Boyang Zhang
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Amaris Keiser
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Yuelong Ji
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Hongkai Ji
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Irina Burd
- Integrated Research Center for Fetal Medicine, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Blandine Bustamante-Helfrich
- Department of Clinical and Applied Science Education (Pathology), University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine, San Antonio, TX
| | - S. Michelle Ogunwole
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Wan-Yee Tang
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Li Liu
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Colleen Pearson
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - Sandra Cerda
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - Barry Zuckerman
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - Lingxin Hao
- Department of Sociology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD,Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
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22
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Anguita-Ruiz A, Bustos-Aibar M, Plaza-Díaz J, Mendez-Gutierrez A, Alcalá-Fdez J, Aguilera CM, Ruiz-Ojeda FJ. Omics Approaches in Adipose Tissue and Skeletal Muscle Addressing the Role of Extracellular Matrix in Obesity and Metabolic Dysfunction. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:2756. [PMID: 33803198 PMCID: PMC7963192 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22052756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling plays important roles in both white adipose tissue (WAT) and the skeletal muscle (SM) metabolism. Excessive adipocyte hypertrophy causes fibrosis, inflammation, and metabolic dysfunction in adipose tissue, as well as impaired adipogenesis. Similarly, disturbed ECM remodeling in SM has metabolic consequences such as decreased insulin sensitivity. Most of described ECM molecular alterations have been associated with DNA sequence variation, alterations in gene expression patterns, and epigenetic modifications. Among others, the most important epigenetic mechanism by which cells are able to modulate their gene expression is DNA methylation. Epigenome-Wide Association Studies (EWAS) have become a powerful approach to identify DNA methylation variation associated with biological traits in humans. Likewise, Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) and gene expression microarrays have allowed the study of whole-genome genetics and transcriptomics patterns in obesity and metabolic diseases. The aim of this review is to explore the molecular basis of ECM in WAT and SM remodeling in obesity and the consequences of metabolic complications. For that purpose, we reviewed scientific literature including all omics approaches reporting genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptomic (GWAS, EWAS, and RNA-seq or cDNA arrays) ECM-related alterations in WAT and SM as associated with metabolic dysfunction and obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Augusto Anguita-Ruiz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, School of Pharmacy, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (A.A.-R.); (M.B.-A.); (J.P.-D.); (A.M.-G.); (F.J.R.-O.)
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria IBS.GRANADA, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Granada, 18014 Granada, Spain
- Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology “José Mataix”, Center of Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Avda. del Conocimiento s/n., 18016 Granada, Spain
- CIBEROBN (CIBER Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Mireia Bustos-Aibar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, School of Pharmacy, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (A.A.-R.); (M.B.-A.); (J.P.-D.); (A.M.-G.); (F.J.R.-O.)
- Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology “José Mataix”, Center of Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Avda. del Conocimiento s/n., 18016 Granada, Spain
| | - Julio Plaza-Díaz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, School of Pharmacy, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (A.A.-R.); (M.B.-A.); (J.P.-D.); (A.M.-G.); (F.J.R.-O.)
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria IBS.GRANADA, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Granada, 18014 Granada, Spain
- Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology “José Mataix”, Center of Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Avda. del Conocimiento s/n., 18016 Granada, Spain
- Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada
| | - Andrea Mendez-Gutierrez
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, School of Pharmacy, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (A.A.-R.); (M.B.-A.); (J.P.-D.); (A.M.-G.); (F.J.R.-O.)
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria IBS.GRANADA, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Granada, 18014 Granada, Spain
- Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology “José Mataix”, Center of Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Avda. del Conocimiento s/n., 18016 Granada, Spain
- CIBEROBN (CIBER Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Jesús Alcalá-Fdez
- Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain;
| | - Concepción María Aguilera
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, School of Pharmacy, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (A.A.-R.); (M.B.-A.); (J.P.-D.); (A.M.-G.); (F.J.R.-O.)
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria IBS.GRANADA, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Granada, 18014 Granada, Spain
- Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology “José Mataix”, Center of Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Avda. del Conocimiento s/n., 18016 Granada, Spain
- CIBEROBN (CIBER Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Javier Ruiz-Ojeda
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, School of Pharmacy, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (A.A.-R.); (M.B.-A.); (J.P.-D.); (A.M.-G.); (F.J.R.-O.)
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria IBS.GRANADA, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Granada, 18014 Granada, Spain
- RG Adipocytes and Metabolism, Institute for Diabetes and Obesity, Helmholtz Diabetes Center at Helmholtz Center Munich, Neuherberg, 85764 Munich, Germany
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23
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Xu R, Hong X, Zhang B, Huang W, Hou W, Wang G, Wang X, Igusa T, Liang L, Ji H. DNA methylation mediates the effect of maternal smoking on offspring birthweight: a birth cohort study of multi-ethnic US mother-newborn pairs. Clin Epigenetics 2021; 13:47. [PMID: 33663600 PMCID: PMC7931602 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-021-01032-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Maternal smoking affects more than half a million pregnancies each year in the US and is known to result in fetal growth restriction as measured by lower birthweight and its associated long-term consequences. Maternal smoking also has been linked to altered fetal DNA methylation (DNAm). However, what remains largely unexplored is whether these DNAm alterations are merely markers of smoking exposure or if they also have implications for health outcomes. This study tested the hypothesis that fetal DNAm mediates the effect of maternal smoking on newborn birthweight. Methods This study included mother–newborn pairs from a US predominantly urban, low-income multi-ethnic birth cohort. DNAm in cord blood were determined using the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip. After standard quality control and normalization procedures, an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of maternal smoking was performed using linear regression models, controlling for maternal age, education, race, parity, pre-pregnancy body mass index, alcohol consumption, gestational age, maternal pregestational/gestational diabetes, child sex, cord blood cell compositions and batch effects. To quantify the degree to which cord DNAm mediates the smoking-birthweight association, the VanderWeele-Vansteelandt approach for single mediator and structural equational model for multiple mediators were used, adjusting for pertinent covariates. Results The study included 954 mother–newborn pairs. Among mothers, 165 (17.3%) ever smoked before or during pregnancy. Newborns with smoking exposure had on average 258 g lower birthweight than newborns without exposure (P < 0.001). Using a false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05 as the significance cutoff, the EWAS identified 38 differentially methylated CpG sites associated with maternal smoking. Of those, 17 CpG sites were mapped to previously reported genes: GFI1, AHRR, CYP1A1, and CNTNAP2; 8 of those, located in the first three genes, were Bonferroni significantly associated with newborn birthweight and mediated the smoking-birthweight association. The combined mediation effect of the three genes explained 67.8% of the smoking-birthweight association. Conclusions Our study not only lends further support that maternal smoking alters fetal DNAm in a multiethnic population, but also suggests that fetal DNAm substantially mediates the maternal smoking–birthweight association. Our findings, if further validated, indicate that DNAm modification is likely an important pathway by which maternal smoking impairs fetal growth and, perhaps, even long-term health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Xu
- Department of Computer Science, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Center On the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Boyang Zhang
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Wanyu Huang
- Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Wenpin Hou
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Guoying Wang
- Center On the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Center On the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Tak Igusa
- Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Liming Liang
- Department of Epidemiology, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Biostatistics, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hongkai Ji
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
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24
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Maternal DNA Methylation During Pregnancy: a Review. Reprod Sci 2021; 28:2758-2769. [PMID: 33469876 DOI: 10.1007/s43032-020-00456-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Multiple environmental, behavioral, and hereditary factors affect pregnancy. Recent studies suggest that epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation (DNAm), affect both maternal and fetal health during the period of gestation. Some of the pregnancy-related risk factors can influence maternal DNAm, thus predisposing both the mother and the neonate to clinical adversities with long-lasting consequences. DNAm alterations in the promoter and enhancer regions modulate gene expression changes which play vital physiological role. In this review, we have discussed the recent advances in our understanding of maternal DNA methylation changes during pregnancy and its associated complications such as gestational diabetes and anemia, adverse pregnancy outcomes like preterm birth, and preeclampsia. We have also highlighted some major gaps and limitations in the area which if addressed might improve our understanding of pregnancy and its associated adverse clinical conditions, ultimately leading to healthy pregnancies and reduction of public health burden.
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25
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Gaining a deeper understanding of social determinants of preterm birth by integrating multi-omics data. Pediatr Res 2021; 89:336-343. [PMID: 33188285 PMCID: PMC7898277 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-020-01266-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In the US, high rates of preterm birth (PTB) and profound Black-White disparities in PTB have persisted for decades. This review focuses on the role of social determinants of health (SDH), with an emphasis on maternal stress, in PTB disparity and biological embedding. It covers: (1) PTB disparity in US Black women and possible contributors; (2) the role of SDH, highlighting maternal stress, in the persistent racial disparity of PTB; (3) epigenetics at the interface between genes and environment; (4) the role of the genome in modifying maternal stress-PTB associations; (5) recent advances in multi-omics studies of PTB; and (6) future perspectives on integrating multi-omics with SDH to elucidate the Black-White disparity in PTB. Available studies have indicated that neither environmental exposures nor genetics alone can adequately explain the Black-White PTB disparity. Preliminary yet promising findings of epigenetic and gene-environment interaction studies underscore the value of integrating SDH with multi-omics in prospective birth cohort studies, especially among high-risk Black women. In an era of rapid advancements in biomedical sciences and technologies and a growing number of prospective birth cohort studies, we have unprecedented opportunities to advance this field and finally address the long history of health disparities in PTB. IMPACT: This review provides an overview of social determinants of health (SDH) with a focus on maternal stress and its role on Black-White disparity in preterm birth (PTB). It summarizes the available literature on the interplay of maternal stress with key biological layers (e.g., individual genome and epigenome in response to environmental stressors) and significant knowledge gaps. It offers perspectives that such knowledge may provide deeper insight into how SDH affects PTB and why some women are more vulnerable than others and underscores the critical need for integrating SDH with multi-omics in prospective birth cohort studies, especially among high-risk Black women.
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26
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Abstract
Preterm birth is a leading cause of neonatal mortality in the US and globally, with preterm premature rupture of fetal membranes (PPROM) accounting for one third of preterm births. Currently no predictive diagnostics are available to precisely assess risk and potentially reduce the incidence of PPROM. Bigycan and decorin, the main proteoglycans present in human fetal membranes, are involved in the physiological maturation of fetal membranes as well as in the pathophysiology of preterm birth. The serum protein sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) has recently been identified as a predictor of spontaneous preterm birth. We hypothesize that the balance between serum decorin and biglycan on one hand and SHBG on the other hand may provide insight into the status of the fetal membranes in early pregnancy, thereby predicting PPROM prior to symptoms. Using chart review, 18 patients with confirmed cases of PPROM were identified from 2013-2016. Second trimester residual serum was retreived from freezer storage for these cases along with 5 matched controls for each case. The biomarkers biglycan, decorin and SHBG were analyzed first separately, then in combination to determine their ability to predict PPROM. The predictive score for the combined model displays an AUC = 0.774. The ROC curve of the predicted score has an optimal threshold of 0.238 and a sensitivity and specificity of 0.72 and 0.84 respectively. This prenatal serum panel is a promising serum screening-based biochemical model to predict PPROM in asymptomatic women.
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27
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Abstract
Innovative analytical frameworks are required to capture the complex gene-environment interactions. We investigate the insufficiency of commonly used models for disease genome analysis and suggest considering genetic interactions in complex diseases. For non-genetic factors, we study the emerging wearable technologies that have enabled quantification of physiological and environmental factors at an unprecedented breadth and depth. We propose a Bayesian framework to hierarchically model personalized gene-environmental interaction to enable precision health and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Li
- Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford CA, 94305, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford CA, 94305, USA; Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Xiao Li
- Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford CA, 94305, USA; Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Sai Zhang
- Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford CA, 94305, USA; Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Michael Snyder
- Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford CA, 94305, USA; Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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28
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Wadon M, Modi N, Wong HS, Thapar A, O'Donovan MC. Recent advances in the genetics of preterm birth. Ann Hum Genet 2019; 84:205-213. [PMID: 31853956 PMCID: PMC7187167 DOI: 10.1111/ahg.12373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2019] [Revised: 11/20/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Preterm birth is associated with short- and long-term impairments affecting physical, cognitive, and neuropsychiatric health. These sequelae, together with a rising preterm birth rate and increased survival, make prematurity a growing public health issue because of the increased number of individuals with impaired health throughout the life span. Although a major contribution to preterm birth comes from environmental factors, it is also modestly heritable. Little is known about the architecture of this genetic contribution. Studies of common and of rare genetic variation have had limited power, but recent findings implicate variation in both the maternal and fetal genome. There is some evidence risk alleles in mothers may be enriched for processes related to immunity and inflammation, and in the preterm infant, processes related to brain development. Overall genomic discoveries for preterm birth lag behind progress for many other multifactorial diseases and traits. Investigations focusing on gene-environment interactions may also provide insights, but these studies still have a number of limitations. Adequately sized genetic studies of preterm birth are a priority for the future especially given the breadth of its negative health impacts across the life span and the current interest in newborn genome sequencing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Wadon
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales
| | - Neena Modi
- Section of Neonatal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Campus, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Hilary S Wong
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Anita Thapar
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales
| | - Michael C O'Donovan
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales
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29
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Mehra R, Keene DE, Kershaw TS, Ickovics JR, Warren JL. Racial and ethnic disparities in adverse birth outcomes: Differences by racial residential segregation. SSM Popul Health 2019; 8:100417. [PMID: 31193960 PMCID: PMC6545386 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Racial and ethnic disparities in adverse birth outcomes have persistently been wide and may be explained by individual and area-level factors. Our primary objective was to determine if county-level black-white segregation modified the association between maternal race/ethnicity and adverse birth outcomes using birth records from the National Center for Health Statistics (2012). Based on maternal residence at birth, county-level black-white racial residential segregation was calculated along five dimensions of segregation: evenness, exposure, concentration, centralization, and clustering. We conducted a two-stage analysis: (1) county-specific logistic regression to determine whether maternal race and ethnicity were associated with preterm birth and term low birth weight; and (2) Bayesian meta-analyses to determine if segregation moderated these associations. We found greater black-white and Hispanic-white disparities in preterm birth in racially isolated counties (exposure) relative to non-isolated counties. We found reduced Hispanic-white disparities in term low birth weight in racially concentrated and centralized counties relative to non-segregated counties. Area-level poverty explained most of the moderating effect of segregation on disparities in adverse birth outcomes, suggesting that area-level poverty is a mediator of these associations. Segregation appears to modify racial/ethnic disparities in adverse birth outcomes. Therefore, policy interventions that reduce black-white racial isolation, or buffer the poor social and economic correlates of segregation, may help to reduce disparities in preterm birth and term low birth weight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renee Mehra
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, United States
| | - Danya E. Keene
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, United States
| | - Trace S. Kershaw
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, United States
| | - Jeannette R. Ickovics
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, United States
| | - Joshua L. Warren
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College St, New Haven, CT, 06510, United States
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30
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Li J, Hong X, Mesiano S, Muglia LJ, Wang X, Snyder M, Stevenson DK, Shaw GM. Natural Selection Has Differentiated the Progesterone Receptor among Human Populations. Am J Hum Genet 2018; 103:45-57. [PMID: 29937092 PMCID: PMC6035283 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The progesterone receptor (PGR) plays a central role in maintaining pregnancy and is significantly associated with medical conditions such as preterm birth that affects 12.6% of all the births in U.S. PGR has been evolving rapidly since the common ancestor of human and chimpanzee, and we herein investigated evolutionary dynamics of PGR during recent human migration and population differentiation. Our study revealed substantial population differentiation at the PGR locus driven by natural selection, where very recent positive selection in East Asians has substantially decreased its genetic diversity by nearly fixing evolutionarily novel alleles. On the contrary, in European populations, the PGR locus has been promoted to a highly polymorphic state likely due to balancing selection. Integrating transcriptome data across multiple tissue types together with large-scale genome-wide association data for preterm birth, our study demonstrated the consequence of the selection event in East Asians on remodeling PGR expression specifically in the ovary and determined a significant association of early spontaneous preterm birth with the evolutionarily selected variants. To reconstruct its evolutionary trajectory on the human lineage, we observed substantial differentiation between modern and archaic humans at the PGR locus, including fixation of a deleterious missense allele in the Neanderthal genome that was later introgressed in modern human populations. Taken together, our study revealed substantial evolutionary innovation in PGR even during very recent human evolution, and its different forms among human populations likely result in differential susceptibility to progesterone-associated disease conditions including preterm birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Li
- The March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Sam Mesiano
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Louis J Muglia
- Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Pediatrics, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Michael Snyder
- Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - David K Stevenson
- The March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
| | - Gary M Shaw
- The March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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31
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Goldstein JA, Bastarache LA, Denny JC, Pulley JM, Aronoff DM. PregOMICS-Leveraging systems biology and bioinformatics for drug repurposing in maternal-child health. Am J Reprod Immunol 2018; 80:e12971. [PMID: 29726581 DOI: 10.1111/aji.12971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 04/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Obstetric diseases remain underserved and understudied. Drug repurposing-utilization of a drug whose use is accepted in one condition for a different condition-could represent a rapid and low-cost way to identify new therapies that are known to be safe. In diseases of pregnancy, the known safety profile is a strong additional incentive. We describe the techniques and steps used in the use of 'omics data for drug repurposing. We illustrate these techniques using case studies of published drug repurposing projects. We provide a set of available databases with low barriers to entry which investigators can use to perform their own projects. The promise of 'omics techniques is unbiased screening, either of all drug targets or of all patients using particular drugs to find which are likely to alter disease risk or progression. However, we caution that reproducibility across the underlying studies, and thus the drugs suggested for repurposing, can be poor. We suggest that improved nosology, for example correlating patient clinical conditions with placental pathology, could yield more robust associations. We conclude that 'omics-driven drug repurposing represents a potential fruitful path to discover new, safe treatments of obstetric diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffery A Goldstein
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Lurie Children's Hospital, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lisa A Bastarache
- Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Joshua C Denny
- Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jill M Pulley
- Vanderbilt Institute of Clinical and Translational Research, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - David M Aronoff
- Section of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.,Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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32
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Rappoport N, Toung J, Hadley D, Wong RJ, Fujioka K, Reuter J, Abbott CW, Oh S, Hu D, Eng C, Huntsman S, Bodian DL, Niederhuber JE, Hong X, Zhang G, Sikora-Wohfeld W, Gignoux CR, Wang H, Oehlert J, Jelliffe-Pawlowski LL, Gould JB, Darmstadt GL, Wang X, Bustamante CD, Snyder MP, Ziv E, Patsopoulos NA, Muglia LJ, Burchard E, Shaw GM, O'Brodovich HM, Stevenson DK, Butte AJ, Sirota M. A genome-wide association study identifies only two ancestry specific variants associated with spontaneous preterm birth. Sci Rep 2018; 8:226. [PMID: 29317701 PMCID: PMC5760643 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18246-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 12/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Preterm birth (PTB), or the delivery prior to 37 weeks of gestation, is a significant cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Although twin studies estimate that maternal genetic contributions account for approximately 30% of the incidence of PTB, and other studies reported fetal gene polymorphism association, to date no consistent associations have been identified. In this study, we performed the largest reported genome-wide association study analysis on 1,349 cases of PTB and 12,595 ancestry-matched controls from the focusing on genomic fetal signals. We tested over 2 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for associations with PTB across five subpopulations: African (AFR), the Americas (AMR), European, South Asian, and East Asian. We identified only two intergenic loci associated with PTB at a genome-wide level of significance: rs17591250 (P = 4.55E-09) on chromosome 1 in the AFR population and rs1979081 (P = 3.72E-08) on chromosome 8 in the AMR group. We have queried several existing replication cohorts and found no support of these associations. We conclude that the fetal genetic contribution to PTB is unlikely due to single common genetic variant, but could be explained by interactions of multiple common variants, or of rare variants affected by environmental influences, all not detectable using a GWAS alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadav Rappoport
- Institute for Computational Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 94143, CA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jonathan Toung
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Dexter Hadley
- Institute for Computational Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 94143, CA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ronald J Wong
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Kazumichi Fujioka
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jason Reuter
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Charles W Abbott
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Sam Oh
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Donglei Hu
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Celeste Eng
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Scott Huntsman
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Dale L Bodian
- Inova Translational Medicine Institute, Inova Health System, Falls Church, VA, USA
| | - John E Niederhuber
- Inova Translational Medicine Institute, Inova Health System, Falls Church, VA, USA.,Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ge Zhang
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | | | | | - Hui Wang
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - John Oehlert
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Jeffrey B Gould
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Gary L Darmstadt
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Carlos D Bustamante
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Michael P Snyder
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Elad Ziv
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Nikolaos A Patsopoulos
- Systems Biology and Computer Science Program, Ann Romney Center of Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, Division of Genetics, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Louis J Muglia
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Esteban Burchard
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Gary M Shaw
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Hugh M O'Brodovich
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - David K Stevenson
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Atul J Butte
- Institute for Computational Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 94143, CA, USA. .,Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. .,Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Marina Sirota
- Institute for Computational Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 94143, CA, USA. .,Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. .,Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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33
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Quinney SK, Gullapelli R, Haas DM. Translational Systems Pharmacology Studies in Pregnant Women. CPT-PHARMACOMETRICS & SYSTEMS PHARMACOLOGY 2017; 7:69-81. [PMID: 29239132 PMCID: PMC5824114 DOI: 10.1002/psp4.12269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2017] [Revised: 11/06/2017] [Accepted: 11/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Pregnancy involves rapid physiological adaptation and complex interplay between mother and fetus. New analytic technologies provide large amounts of genomic, proteomic, and metabolomics data. The integration of these data through bioinformatics, statistical, and systems pharmacology techniques can improve our understanding of the mechanisms of normal maternal physiologic changes and fetal development. New insights into the mechanisms of pregnancy‐related disorders, such as preterm birth (PTB), may lead to the development of new therapeutic interventions and novel biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara K Quinney
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.,Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - Rakesh Gullapelli
- School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - David M Haas
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.,Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
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