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Sordillo JE, White F, Majid S, Aguet F, Ardlie KG, Karumanchi SA, Florez JC, Powe CE, Edlow AG, Bouchard L, Jacques PE, Hivert MF. Higher Maternal Body Mass Index Is Associated With Lower Placental Expression of EPYC: A Genome-Wide Transcriptomic Study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2024; 109:e1159-e1166. [PMID: 37864851 PMCID: PMC10876411 DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgad619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/23/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT Elevated body mass index (BMI) in pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. The placental transcriptome may elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying these associations. OBJECTIVE We examined the association of first-trimester maternal BMI with the placental transcriptome in the Gen3G prospective cohort. METHODS We enrolled participants at 5 to 16 weeks of gestation and measured height and weight. We collected placenta samples at delivery. We performed whole-genome RNA sequencing using Illumina HiSeq 4000 and aligned RNA sequences based on the GTEx v8 pipeline. We conducted differential gene expression analysis of over 15 000 genes from 450 placental samples and reported the change in normalized gene expression per 1-unit increase in log2 BMI (kg/m2) as a continuous variable using Limma Voom. We adjusted models for maternal age, fetal sex, gestational age at delivery, gravidity, and surrogate variables accounting for technical variability. We compared participants with BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 mg/kg2 (N = 257) vs those with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2, N = 82) in secondary analyses. RESULTS Participants' mean ± SD age was 28.2 ± 4.4 years and BMI was 25.4 ± 5.5 kg/m2 in early pregnancy. Higher maternal BMI was associated with lower placental expression of EPYC (slope = -1.94, false discovery rate [FDR]-adjusted P = 7.3 × 10-6 for continuous BMI; log2 fold change = -1.35, FDR-adjusted P = 3.4 × 10-3 for BMI ≥30 vs BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m2) and with higher placental expression of IGFBP6, CHRDL1, and CXCL13 after adjustment for covariates and accounting for multiple testing (FDR < 0.05). CONCLUSION Our genome-wide transcriptomic study revealed novel genes potentially implicated in placental biologic response to higher maternal BMI in early pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanne E Sordillo
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Frédérique White
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Sana Majid
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - François Aguet
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Kristin G Ardlie
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - S Ananth Karumanchi
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Jose C Florez
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Diabetes Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Camille E Powe
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Andrea G Edlow
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Luigi Bouchard
- Department of Biochemistry and Functional Genomics, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada
- Department of Medical Biology, CIUSSS of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Saguenay, QC G7H 7K9, Canada
- Centre de recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke (CRCHUS), Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N3, Canada
| | - Pierre-Etienne Jacques
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada
- Centre de recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke (CRCHUS), Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N3, Canada
| | - Marie-France Hivert
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Diabetes Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Centre de recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke (CRCHUS), Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N3, Canada
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Rasmussen JM, Wang Y, Graham AM, Fair DA, Posner J, O'Connor TG, Simhan HN, Yen E, Madan N, Entringer S, Wadhwa PD, Buss C. Segmenting hypothalamic subunits in human newborn magnetic resonance imaging data. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26582. [PMID: 38339904 PMCID: PMC10826633 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26582] [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: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Preclinical evidence suggests that inter-individual variation in the structure of the hypothalamus at birth is associated with variation in the intrauterine environment, with downstream implications for future disease susceptibility. However, scientific advancement in humans is limited by a lack of validated methods for the automatic segmentation of the newborn hypothalamus. N = 215 healthy full-term infants with paired T1-/T2-weighted MR images across four sites were considered for primary analyses (mean postmenstrual age = 44.3 ± 3.5 weeks, nmale /nfemale = 110/106). The outputs of FreeSurfer's hypothalamic subunit segmentation tools designed for adults (segFS) were compared against those of a novel registration-based pipeline developed here (segATLAS) and against manually edited segmentations (segMAN) as reference. Comparisons were made using Dice Similarity Coefficients (DSCs) and through expected associations with postmenstrual age at scan. In addition, we aimed to demonstrate the validity of the segATLAS pipeline by testing for the stability of inter-individual variation in hypothalamic volume across the first year of life (n = 41 longitudinal datasets available). SegFS and segATLAS segmentations demonstrated a wide spread in agreement (mean DSC = 0.65 ± 0.14 SD; range = {0.03-0.80}). SegATLAS volumes were more highly correlated with postmenstrual age at scan than segFS volumes (n = 215 infants; RsegATLAS 2 = 65% vs. RsegFS 2 = 40%), and segATLAS volumes demonstrated a higher degree of agreement with segMAN reference segmentations at the whole hypothalamus (segATLAS DSC = 0.89 ± 0.06 SD; segFS DSC = 0.68 ± 0.14 SD) and subunit levels (segATLAS DSC = 0.80 ± 0.16 SD; segFS DSC = 0.40 ± 0.26 SD). In addition, segATLAS (but not segFS) volumes demonstrated stability from near birth to ~1 years age (n = 41; R2 = 25%; p < 10-3 ). These findings highlight segATLAS as a valid and publicly available (https://github.com/jerodras/neonate_hypothalamus_seg) pipeline for the segmentation of hypothalamic subunits using human newborn MRI up to 3 months of age collected at resolutions on the order of 1 mm isotropic. Because the hypothalamus is traditionally understudied due to a lack of high-quality segmentation tools during the early life period, and because the hypothalamus is of high biological relevance to human growth and development, this tool may stimulate developmental and clinical research by providing new insight into the unique role of the hypothalamus and its subunits in shaping trajectories of early life health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerod M. Rasmussen
- Development, Health and Disease Research ProgramUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of PediatricsUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCaliforniaUSA
| | - Yun Wang
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
- New York State Psychiatric InstituteNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Alice M. Graham
- Department of Behavioral NeuroscienceOregon Health & Science UniversityPortlandOregonUSA
| | - Damien A. Fair
- Masonic Institute for the Developing BrainUniversity of MinnesotaMinneapolisMinnesotaUSA
| | - Jonathan Posner
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
- New York State Psychiatric InstituteNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Thomas G. O'Connor
- Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, Neuroscience and Obstetrics and GynecologyUniversity of Rochester Medical CenterRochesterNew YorkUSA
| | - Hyagriv N. Simhan
- Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Elizabeth Yen
- Department of PediatricsTufts Medical CenterBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Neel Madan
- Department of RadiologyTufts Medical CenterBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Sonja Entringer
- Development, Health and Disease Research ProgramUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of PediatricsUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Medical PsychologyCharité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Pathik D. Wadhwa
- Development, Health and Disease Research ProgramUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of PediatricsUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Psychiatry and Human BehaviorUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of EpidemiologyUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCaliforniaUSA
| | - Claudia Buss
- Development, Health and Disease Research ProgramUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of PediatricsUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Medical PsychologyCharité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
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Pearce AL, Hallisky K, Rolls BJ, Wilson SJ, Rose E, Geier CF, Garavan H, Keller KL. Children at high familial risk for obesity show executive functioning deficits prior to development of excess weight status. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2023; 31:2998-3007. [PMID: 37794530 PMCID: PMC10884994 DOI: 10.1002/oby.23892] [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] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine whether children with healthy weight who vary by familial risk for obesity differ in executive functioning. METHODS Children (age 7-8 years) without obesity (n = 93, 52% male) who differed by familial risk for obesity (based on maternal weight status) completed go/no-go and stop-signal tasks to assess inhibitory control and an N-back task to assess working memory. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry measured adiposity. Linear and mixed-effect models assessed unique effects and relative importance analysis-quantified relative effects of familial risk and percent body fat. RESULTS Children at high compared with low familial risk showed worse inhibitory control; however, child adiposity was not associated with inhibitory control. Both high familial risk and greater child adiposity were associated with worse N-back performance when cognitive demand was high (2-back), but not low (0- and 1-back). The relative effect of familial risk on executive functioning was 2.7 to 16 times greater than the relative effect of percent body fat. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide initial evidence that deficits in executive functioning may precede the development of obesity in children at high familial risk for this disease. Additional family risk studies are needed to elucidate the pathways through which maternal obesity influences child executive functioning and risk for obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alaina L Pearce
- Department of Nutritional Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Kyle Hallisky
- Department of Nutritional Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Barbara J Rolls
- Department of Nutritional Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Stephen J Wilson
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Emma Rose
- Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Charles F Geier
- Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Hugh Garavan
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
| | - Kathleen L Keller
- Department of Nutritional Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Food Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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Kwok J, Khanolainen DP, Speyer LG, Murray AL, Torppa MP, Auyeung B. Examining Maternal Cardiometabolic Markers in Pregnancy on Child Emotional and Behavior Trajectories: Using Growth Curve Models on a Cohort Study. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 3:614-622. [PMID: 37881536 PMCID: PMC10593919 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Poor maternal cardiometabolic health in pregnancy is associated with negative effects on child health outcomes, but there is limited literature on child and adolescent socioemotional outcomes. The study aimed to investigate associations between maternal cardiometabolic markers during pregnancy with child and adolescent socioemotional trajectories. Methods Growth curve models were run to examine how maternal cardiometabolic markers in pregnancy affected child socioemotional trajectories from ages 4 to 16. Models were adjusted for all pregnancy trimesters and maternal, child, and socioeconomic covariates. This study used the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (United Kingdom) cohort. Participants consisted of mother-child pairs (N = 15,133). Maternal predictors of fasting glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and body mass index were taken from each pregnancy trimester (T1, T2, T3). Child outcomes included emotional problems, conduct problems, and hyperactivity problems from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results Fully adjusted models showed significant associations between elevated T1 fasting glucose and increased conduct problems, higher T1 body mass index and increased hyperactivity problems, lowered T1 high-density lipoprotein and decreased hyperactivity problems, and elevated T2 triglycerides and increased hyperactivity problems. Conclusions Maternal cardiometabolic risk is associated with conduct and hyperactivity outcomes from ages 4 to 16. This study suggests that maternal markers of fasting glucose, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides during pregnancy could be added as supplements for clinical measures of risk when predicting child and adolescent socioemotional trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janell Kwok
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | | | - Lydia G. Speyer
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
| | - Aja L. Murray
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Minna P. Torppa
- Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Bonnie Auyeung
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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5
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Rasmussen JM, Tuulari JJ, Nolvi S, Thompson PM, Merisaari H, Lavonius M, Karlsson L, Entringer S, Wadhwa PD, Karlsson H, Buss C. Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index is associated with newborn offspring hypothalamic mean diffusivity: a prospective dual-cohort study. BMC Med 2023; 21:57. [PMID: 36788536 PMCID: PMC9930241 DOI: 10.1186/s12916-023-02743-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND An extensive body of animal literature supports the premise that maternal obesity during pregnancy can alter the development of the fetal hypothalamus (HTH, a critical regulator of energy balance) with implications for offspring obesity risk (i.e., long-term energy imbalance). Yet, the relationship in humans between maternal overweight/obesity during pregnancy and fetal hypothalamic development remains largely unknown. Here, using an international (Finland and California, USA) multi-site diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) dataset, we test the hypothesis that maternal pre-pregnancy BMI is associated with newborn offspring HTH mean diffusivity (HTH MD, a replicable neural correlate of BMI in adults). METHODS HTH MD was independently quantified in two separate BMI-matched cohorts (up to class II obesity; BMIRange = 17-35) using a high-resolution atlas-based definition of HTH. A total of n = 231 mother-child dyads were available for this analysis (nSite,1 = 152, age at MRI = 26.7 ± 8.1 days, gestational age at birth = 39.9 ± 1.2 weeks, nM/F = 82/70, BMI = 24.2 ± 3.8; nSite,2 = 79, age at MRI = 25.6 ± 12.5 days, gestational age at birth = 39.3 ± 1.5 weeks, nM/F = 45/34, BMI = 25.1 ± 4.0). The association between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and newborn offspring HTH MD was examined separately in each cohort using linear regression adjusting for gestational age at birth, postnatal age at scan, sex, whole white matter mean diffusivity, and DTI quality control criteria. In post hoc analyses, additional potentially confounding factors including socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and obstetric risk were adjusted where appropriate. RESULTS The distribution of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was comparable across sites but differed by ethnicity and socioeconomic status. A positive linear association between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and newborn offspring HTH MD was observed at both sites ([Formula: see text]Site,1 = 0.17, pSite,1 = 0.01; [Formula: see text]Site,2 = 0.22, pSite,2 = 0.03) and remained significant after adjusting for cohort-relevant covariates. CONCLUSIONS These findings translate the preclinically established association between maternal obesity during pregnancy and offspring hypothalamic microstructure to the human context. In addition to further replication/generalization, future efforts to identify biological mediators of the association between maternal obesity and fetal HTH development are warranted to develop targeted strategies for the primary prevention of childhood obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerod M Rasmussen
- Development, Health and Disease Research Program, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
| | - Jetro J Tuulari
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 2, 20520, Turku, Finland
- Turku Collegium for Science Technology and Medicine (TCSMT), University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford (Sigrid Juselius Fellowship), Oxford, UK
| | - Saara Nolvi
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 2, 20520, Turku, Finland
- Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Paul M Thompson
- Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Institute for Neuroimaging and Informatics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA
| | - Harri Merisaari
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 2, 20520, Turku, Finland
| | - Maria Lavonius
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 2, 20520, Turku, Finland
| | - Linnea Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 2, 20520, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Sonja Entringer
- Development, Health and Disease Research Program, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- Department of Medical Psychology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany
| | - Pathik D Wadhwa
- Development, Health and Disease Research Program, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Hasse Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 2, 20520, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Claudia Buss
- Development, Health and Disease Research Program, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- Department of Medical Psychology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany
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6
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Rasmussen JM, Thompson PM, Gyllenhammer LE, Lindsay KL, O'Connor TG, Koletzko B, Entringer S, Wadhwa PD, Buss C. Maternal free fatty acid concentration during pregnancy is associated with newborn hypothalamic microstructure in humans. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2022; 30:1462-1471. [PMID: 35785481 PMCID: PMC9541037 DOI: 10.1002/oby.23452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study tested the hypothesis, in a prospective cohort study design, that maternal saturated free fatty acid (sFFA) concentration during pregnancy is prospectively associated with offspring (newborn) hypothalamic (HTH) microstructure and to explore the functional relevance of this association with respect to early-childhood body fat percentage (BF%). METHODS In N = 94 healthy newborns (born mean 39.3 [SD 1.5] weeks gestation), diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was performed shortly after birth (25.3 [12.5] postnatal days), and a subgroup (n = 37) underwent a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan in early childhood (4.7 [SD 0.7] years). Maternal sFFA concentration during pregnancy was quantified in fasting blood samples via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Infant HTH microstructural integrity was characterized using mean diffusivity (MD). Multiple linear regression was used to test the association between maternal sFFA and HTH MD, accounting for newborn sex, age at scan, mean white matter MD, and image quality. Multiple linear regression models also tested the association between HTH MD and early-childhood BF%, accounting for breastfeeding status. RESULTS Maternal sFFA during pregnancy accounted for 8.3% of the variation in newborn HTH MD (β-std = 0.25; p = 0.006). Furthermore, newborn HTH MD prospectively accounted for 15% of the variation in early-childhood BF% (β-std = 0.32; p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that maternal overnutrition during pregnancy may influence the development of the fetal hypothalamus, which, in turn, may have clinical relevance for childhood obesity risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerod M. Rasmussen
- Development, Health and Disease Research ProgramUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of PediatricsUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
| | - Paul M. Thompson
- Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Institute for Neuroimaging and Informatics, Keck School of MedicineUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Lauren E. Gyllenhammer
- Development, Health and Disease Research ProgramUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of PediatricsUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
| | - Karen L. Lindsay
- Department of PediatricsUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- University of California, Irvine Susan Samueli Integrative Health InstituteCollege of Health Sciences, University of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
| | - Thomas G. O'Connor
- Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, Neuroscience, and Obstetrics and GynecologyUniversity of Rochester Medical CenterRochesterNew YorkUSA
| | - Berthold Koletzko
- Division of Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Dr von Hauner Children's HospitalLudwig‐Maximillian University Munich, University HospitalsMunichGermany
| | - Sonja Entringer
- Development, Health and Disease Research ProgramUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of PediatricsUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Institute of Medical PsychologyCharité University Hospital Berlin, corporate member of Free University of Berlin, Humboldt‐University of BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Pathik D. Wadhwa
- Development, Health and Disease Research ProgramUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of PediatricsUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Psychiatry and Human BehaviorUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of EpidemiologyUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
| | - Claudia Buss
- Development, Health and Disease Research ProgramUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Department of PediatricsUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
- Institute of Medical PsychologyCharité University Hospital Berlin, corporate member of Free University of Berlin, Humboldt‐University of BerlinBerlinGermany
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