Project description:Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is believed to originate in utero and frequently involves aberrant promoter methylation. Folate is the methyl donor for DNA methylation, suggesting that maternal folate metabolism may contribute to the development of ALL. We previously reported significant associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the maternal methionine synthase (MTR) gene and offspring’s risk of ALL. Here, we test the associations of 11 SNPs in MTR with aberrant DNA methylation in offspring with ALL. We recruited 51 ALL case-mother pairs from Texas Children’s Hospital from 2005-2010. We collected maternal saliva samples and diagnostic bone marrow plasma from cases. Bone marrow plasma was obtained from six healthy donors. DNA methylation was determined using MCA-Seq. Pyrosequencing was used to determine maternal MTR genotypes. We identified offspring with high and low promoter methylation and used logistic regression to estimate the effects of maternal genotype on offspring methylation. Twenty-two cases (43%) demonstrated high promoter methylation. Maternal MTR 113A>G was associated with aberrant DNA methylation in offspring (OR 4.59, 95% CI 1.21-17.93). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an association between maternal genotype and offspring methylation in pediatric ALL.
Project description:Folate is crucial for diverse biological processes including neurogenesis. While folate supplementation during pregnancy is standard for preventing neural tube defects (NTDs), concerns are growing over the potential risks of excessive maternal intake. In this study, we employed spatial transcriptomics and single-nucleus multi-omics techniques to investigate the impact of increased maternal folate intake on offspring brain development. Elevated folate intake broadly affected gene pathways linked to neurogenesis and neuronal axon myelination across multiple brain regions. Furthermore, specific gene expression alterations related to learning and memory processes emerged in thalamic and ventricular regions. Single-nucleus multi-omics analysis revealed that maturing excitatory neurons in dentate gyrus are particularly vulnerable to suboptimal maternal folate intake. Aberrant gene expression and chromatin accessibility changes were primarily centered on pathways governing ribosomal biogenesis, which is critical for synaptic formation. Altogether, our findings provide novel insights into how excessive maternal folate supplementation affects offspring brain development, notably by influencing gene expression and chromatin accessibility.
Project description:Folate is crucial for diverse biological processes including neurogenesis. While folate supplementation during pregnancy is standard for preventing neural tube defects (NTDs), concerns are growing over the potential risks of excessive maternal intake. In this study, we employed spatial transcriptomics and single-nucleus multi-omics techniques to investigate the impact of increased maternal folate intake on offspring brain development. Elevated folate intake broadly affected gene pathways linked to neurogenesis and neuronal axon myelination across multiple brain regions. Furthermore, specific gene expression alterations related to learning and memory processes emerged in thalamic and ventricular regions. Single-nucleus multi-omics analysis revealed that maturing excitatory neurons in dentate gyrus are particularly vulnerable to suboptimal maternal folate intake. Aberrant gene expression and chromatin accessibility changes were primarily centered on pathways governing ribosomal biogenesis, which is critical for synaptic formation. Altogether, our findings provide novel insights into how excessive maternal folate supplementation affects offspring brain development, notably by influencing gene expression and chromatin accessibility.
Project description:Growing evidence supports the hypothesis that the in utero environment can have profound implications for fetal development and for offspring health in later life. Current theory suggests that conditions experienced in utero prepare, or ‘programme’, the fetus for its anticipated post-natal environment. The mechanisms responsible for these programming events are poorly understood but are likely to involve gene expression changes. Folate is essential for normal fetal development and inadequate maternal folate supply during pregnancy has long term adverse effects on the offspring. We tested the hypothesis that inadequate folate supply during pregnancy alters offspring programming through altered gene expression. Female C57BL/6J mice were fed diets containing 2 mg folic acid/kg or 0.4 mg folic acid/kg for 4 weeks before mating and throughout pregnancy. At 17.5 day gestation, genome-wide gene expression in fetal liver and placenta of male offspring was measured by microarray analysis. In the fetal liver, 989 genes (555 up-regulated, 434 down-regulated) were expressed differentially in response to maternal folate depletion, with 460 genes expressed differentially (250 up-regulated, 255 down-regulated) in the placenta. Only 25 differentially expressed genes were common between organs, revealing that maternal folate intake during pregnancy influences fetal gene expression in a highly organ specific manner which, we propose, reflects prioritised protection of essential organ-specific functions.
Project description:In this study, we show that pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) has an alternative mechanism for aberrant splicing that involves post-translational regulation of the splicing machinery via deubiquitination.
Project description:In this study, we show that pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) has an alternative mechanism for aberrant splicing that involves post-translational regulation of the splicing machinery via deubiquitination.
Project description:In this study, we show that pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) has an alternative mechanism for aberrant splicing that involves post-translational regulation of the splicing machinery via deubiquitination.
Project description:In this study, we show that pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) has an alternative mechanism for aberrant splicing that involves post-translational regulation of the splicing machinery via deubiquitination.
Project description:In this study, we show that pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) has an alternative mechanism for aberrant splicing that involves post-translational regulation of the splicing machinery via deubiquitination.
Project description:In this study, we show that pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) has an alternative mechanism for aberrant splicing that involves post-translational regulation of the splicing machinery via deubiquitination.
