Project description:Microarray of whole blood maternal samples comparing the expression of genes in the maternal blood in pregnancies where the fetus was hypoxic at birth compared to those where the fetus was normoxic at birth. Intrapartum hypoxia is associated with severe neonatal morbidity and mortality. Current techniques to assess fetal hypoxic status during labour have a poor sensitivity. At birth, the lactate level in umbilical cord blood is used to assess the degree of fetal hypoxia during birth, such that a high lactate reflects a hypoxic fetus and a low lactate a normoxic fetus. We collected maternal blood prior to delivery and compared the expression of genes in the maternal blood in women delivering a normoxic or hypoxic fetus as evidenced by umbilcal cord blood levels.
Project description:We surveyed the genotypes and DNA methylomes of 237 neonates and found 1423 punctate regions of the methylome that were highly variable across individuals, termed variably methylated regions (VMRs), against a backdrop of homogeneity. Although methQTLs were readily detected in neonatal methylomes, genotype alone did not explain the majority of the VMRs. We found that the best explanation for 75% of VMRs was the interaction of genotype with different in utero environments, including maternal smoking, maternal depression, maternal BMI, infant birth weight, gestational age and birth order.
2014-04-02 | GSE54445 | GEO
Project description:Maternal oral microbiome at birth
Project description:Spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) is a leading cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality, yet its prevention and early risk stratification are limited. Previous investigations have suggested that vaginal microbes and metabolites may be implicated in sPTB. Here we performed untargeted metabolomics on 232 second-trimester vaginal samples, 80 from pregnancies ending preterm. We find multiple associations between vaginal metabolites and subsequent preterm birth, and propose that several of these metabolites, including diethanolamine and ethyl glucoside, are exogenous. We observe associations between the metabolome and microbiome profiles previously obtained using 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing, including correlations between bacteria considered suboptimal, such as Gardnerella vaginalis, and metabolites enriched in term pregnancies, such as tyramine. We investigate these associations using metabolic models. We use machine learning models to predict sPTB risk from metabolite levels, weeks to months before birth, with good accuracy (area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.78). These models, which we validate using two external cohorts, are more accurate than microbiome-based and maternal covariates-based models (area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.55-0.59). Our results demonstrate the potential of vaginal metabolites as early biomarkers of sPTB and highlight exogenous exposures as potential risk factors for prematurity.
Project description:We surveyed the genotypes and DNA methylomes of 237 neonates and found 1423 punctate regions of the methylome that were highly variable across individuals, termed variably methylated regions (VMRs), against a backdrop of homogeneity. Although methQTLs were readily detected in neonatal methylomes, genotype alone did not explain the majority of the VMRs. We found that the best explanation for 75% of VMRs was the interaction of genotype with different in utero environments, including maternal smoking, maternal depression, maternal BMI, infant birth weight, gestational age and birth order. We surveyed the genotypes and DNA methylomes of 237 neonates and included 32 technical replicates
Project description:We surveyed the genotypes and DNA methylomes of 237 neonates and found 1423 punctate regions of the methylome that were highly variable across individuals, termed variably methylated regions (VMRs), against a backdrop of homogeneity. Although methQTLs were readily detected in neonatal methylomes, genotype alone did not explain the majority of the VMRs. We found that the best explanation for 75% of VMRs was the interaction of genotype with different in utero environments, including maternal smoking, maternal depression, maternal BMI, infant birth weight, gestational age and birth order. We surveyed the genotypes and DNA methylomes of 237 neonates
Project description:We surveyed the genotypes and DNA methylomes of 237 neonates and found 1423 punctate regions of the methylome that were highly variable across individuals, termed variably methylated regions (VMRs), against a backdrop of homogeneity. Although methQTLs were readily detected in neonatal methylomes, genotype alone did not explain the majority of the VMRs. We found that the best explanation for 75% of VMRs was the interaction of genotype with different in utero environments, including maternal smoking, maternal depression, maternal BMI, infant birth weight, gestational age and birth order.
Project description:The microorganisms colonizing the gastrointestinal tract of animals, collectively referred to as the gut microbiome, affect numerous host behaviors dependent on the central nervous system (CNS). Studies comparing germ-free mice to normally colonized mice have demonstrated influences of the microbiome on anxiety-related behaviors, voluntary activity, and gene expression in the CNS. Additionally, there is epidemiologic evidence supporting an intergenerational influence of the maternal microbiome on neurodevelopment of offspring and behavior later in life. There is limited experimental evidence however directly linking the maternal microbiome to long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes, or knowledge regarding mechanisms responsible for such effects. Here we show that that the maternal microbiome has a dominant influence on several offspring phenotypes including anxiety-related behavior, voluntary activity, and body weight. Adverse outcomes in offspring were associated with features of the maternal microbiome including bile salt hydrolase (Bsh) expression, abundance of certain bile acids, and hepatic expression of S1pr2. In cross-foster experiments, offspring resembled their birth dam phenotypically, despite faithful colonization in the postnatal period with the surrogate dam microbiome. Genome-wide methylation analysis of hippocampal DNA identified microbiome-associated differences in methylation of 196 loci in total, 176 of which were imprinted by the maternal microbiome. Further, single-cell transcriptional analysis revealed accompanying differences in expression of several differentially methylated genes within certain hippocampal cell clusters, and vascular expression of genes associated with bile acid transport. Inferred cell-to-cell communication in the hippocampus based on coordinated ligand-receptor expression revealed differences in expression of neuropeptides associated with satiety. Collectively, these data provide proof-of-principle that the maternal gut microbiome has a dominant influence on the neurodevelopment underlying certain offspring behaviors and activities, and selectively affects genome methylation and gene expression in the offspring CNS in conjunction with that neurodevelopment.