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Burugupalli S, Smith AAT, Oshlensky G, Huynh K, Giles C, Wang T, George A, Paul S, Nguyen A, Duong T, Mellett N, Cinel M, Mir SA, Chen L, Wenk MR, Karnani N, Collier F, Saffery R, Vuillermin P, Ponsonby AL, Burgner D, Meikle P. Ontogeny of circulating lipid metabolism in pregnancy and early childhood: a longitudinal population study. eLife 2022; 11:72779. [PMID: 35234611 PMCID: PMC8942471 DOI: 10.7554/elife.72779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: There is mounting evidence that in utero and early life exposures may predispose an individual to metabolic disorders in later life; and dysregulation of lipid metabolism is critical in such outcomes. However, there is limited knowledge about lipid metabolism and factors causing lipid dysregulation in early life that could result in adverse health outcomes in later life. We studied the effect of antenatal factors such as gestational age, birth weight and mode of birth on lipid metabolism at birth; changes in the circulating lipidome in the first four years of life and the effect of breastfeeding in the first year of life. From this study, we aim to generate a framework for deeper understanding into factors effecting lipid metabolism in early life, to provide early interventions for those at risk of developing metabolic disorders including cardiovascular diseases. Methods and findings: We performed comprehensive lipid profiling of 1074 mother-child dyads in the Barwon Infant Study (BIS), a population based pre-birth cohort and measured 776 distinct lipid species across 42 lipid classes using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC). We measured lipids in 1032 maternal serum samples at 28 weeks' gestation, 893 cord serum samples at birth, 793, 735, and 511 plasma samples at six, twelve months, and four years, respectively. The lipidome differed between mother and newborn and changed markedly with increasing child's age. Cord serum was enriched with long chain poly-unsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), and corresponding cholesteryl esters relative to the maternal serum. Alkenylphosphatidylethanolamine species containing LC-PUFAs increased with child's age, whereas the corresponding lysophospholipids and triglycerides decreased. We performed regression analyses to investigate the associations of cord serum lipid species with antenatal factors: gestational age, birth weight, mode of birth and duration of labor. Majority of the cord serum lipids were strongly associated with gestational age and birth weight, with most lipids showing opposing associations. Each mode of birth showed an independent association with cord serum lipids. Breastfeeding had a significant impact on the plasma lipidome in the first year of life, with upto 17-fold increases in a few species of alkyldiaclylglycerols at 6 months of age. Conclusions: This study sheds light on lipid metabolism in infancy and early childhood and provide a framework to define the relationship between lipid metabolism and health outcomes in early childhood. Funding Statement: This work was supported by the A*STAR-NHMRC joint call funding (1711624031).
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Affiliation(s)
- Satvika Burugupalli
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | | | - Gavriel Oshlensky
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Kevin Huynh
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Corey Giles
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourn, Australia
| | - Tingting Wang
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Alexandra George
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Sudip Paul
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Anh Nguyen
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Thy Duong
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Natalie Mellett
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Michelle Cinel
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Sartaj Ahmad Mir
- Department of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Li Chen
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Markus R Wenk
- Department of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Neerja Karnani
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Fiona Collier
- School of Medicine, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
| | | | | | | | - David Burgner
- Infection and Immunity, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Australia
| | - Peter Meikle
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
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Ponsonby AL. Reflection on modern methods: building causal evidence within high-dimensional molecular epidemiological studies of moderate size. Int J Epidemiol 2021; 50:1016-1029. [PMID: 33594409 DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyaa174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
This commentary provides a practical perspective on epidemiological analysis within a single high-dimensional study of moderate size to consider a causal question. In this setting, non-causal confounding is important. This occurs when a factor is a determinant of outcome and the underlying association between exposure and the factor is non-causal. That is, the association arises due to chance, confounding or other bias rather than reflecting that exposure and the factor are causally related. In particular, the influence of technical processing factors must be accounted for by pre-processing measures to remove artefact or to control for these factors such as batch run. Work steps include the evaluation of alternative non-causal explanations for observed exposure-disease associations and strategies to obtain the highest level of causal inference possible within the study. A systematic approach is required to work through a question set and obtain insights on not only the exposure-disease association but also the multifactorial causal structure of the underlying data where possible. The appropriate inclusion of molecular findings will enhance the quest to better understand multifactorial disease causation in modern observational epidemiological studies.
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Nilsson AK, Andersson MX, Sjöbom U, Hellgren G, Lundgren P, Pivodic A, Smith LEH, Hellström A. Sphingolipidomics of serum in extremely preterm infants: Association between low sphingosine-1-phosphate levels and severe retinopathy of prematurity. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids 2021; 1866:158939. [PMID: 33862236 PMCID: PMC8633973 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2021.158939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Extremely preterm infants are at risk of developing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) that can cause impaired vision or blindness. Changes in blood lipids have been associated with ROP. This study aimed to monitor longitudinal changes in the serum sphingolipidome of extremely preterm infants and investigate the relationship to development of severe ROP. METHODS This is a prospective study that included 47 infants born <28 gestational weeks. Serum samples were collected from cord blood and at postnatal days 1, 7, 14, and 28, and at postmenstrual weeks (PMW) 32, 36, and 40. Serum sphingolipids and phosphatidylcholines were extracted and analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Associations between sphingolipid species and ROP were assessed using mixed models for repeated measures. RESULTS The serum concentration of all investigated lipid classes, including ceramide, mono- di- and trihexosylceramide, sphingomyelin, and phosphatidylcholine displayed distinct temporal patterns between birth and PMW40. There were also substantial changes in the lipid species composition within each class. Among the analyzed sphingolipid species, sphingosine-1-phosphate showed the strongest association with severe ROP, and this association was independent of gestational age at birth and weight standard deviation score change. CONCLUSIONS The serum phospho- and sphingolipidome undergoes significant remodeling during the first weeks of the preterm infant's life. Low postnatal levels of the signaling lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate are associated with the development of severe ROP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anders K Nilsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
| | - Mats X Andersson
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, The Faculty of Science, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Ulrika Sjöbom
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Institute of Health and Care Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Gunnel Hellgren
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Pia Lundgren
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Aldina Pivodic
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Lois E H Smith
- The Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ann Hellström
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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Desoye G, Herrera E. Adipose tissue development and lipid metabolism in the human fetus: The 2020 perspective focusing on maternal diabetes and obesity. Prog Lipid Res 2020; 81:101082. [PMID: 33383022 DOI: 10.1016/j.plipres.2020.101082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
During development, the human fetus accrues the highest proportion of fat of all mammals. Precursors of fat lobules can be found at week 14 of pregnancy. Thereafter, they expand, filling with triacylglycerols during pregnancy. The resultant mature lipid-filled adipocytes emerge from a developmental programme of embryonic stem cells, which is regulated differently than adult adipogenesis. Fetal triacylglycerol synthesis uses glycerol and fatty acids derived predominantly from glycolysis and lipogenesis in liver and adipocytes. The fatty acid composition of fetal adipose tissue at the end of pregnancy shows a preponderance of palmitic acid, and differs from the mother. Maternal diabetes mellitus does not influence this fatty acid profile. Glucose oxidation is the main source of energy for the fetus, but mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation also contributes. Indirect evidence suggests the presence of lipoprotein lipase in fetal adipose tissue. Its activity may be increased under hyperinsulinemic conditions as in maternal diabetes mellitus and obesity, thereby contributing to increased triacylglycerol deposition found in the newborns of such pregnancies. Fetal lipolysis is low. Changes in the expression of genes controlling metabolism in fetal adipose tissue appear to contribute actively to the increased neonatal fat mass found in diabetes and obesity. Many of these processes are under endocrine regulation, principally by insulin, and show sex-differences. Novel fatty acid derived signals such as oxylipins are present in cord blood with as yet undiscovered function. Despite many decades of research on fetal lipid deposition and metabolism, many key questions await answers.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Desoye
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
| | - E Herrera
- Faculties of Pharmacy and Medicine, University CEU San Pablo, Madrid, Spain.
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