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Global Methylation in the Placenta and Umbilical Cord Blood From Pregnancies With Maternal Gestational Diabetes, Preeclampsia, and Obesity

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Abstract

Emerging evidence indicates that maternal medical risk during pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), preeclampsia, and obesity, predisposes the offspring to suboptimal development. However, the underlying biological/epigenetic mechanism in utero is still unknown. The current pilot study (N = 50) compared the levels of global methylation in the placenta and umbilical cord blood among women with and without each risk condition (GDM, preeclampsia, and obesity) and explored whether the levels of global methylation were associated with fetal/infant growth. Results show that global methylation levels in the placenta were lower in patients with gestational diabetes (P = .003) and preeclampsia (P = .05) but higher with obesity (P = .01). Suggestive negative associations were found between global methylation level in the placenta and infant body length and head circumference. While preliminary, it is possible that the placenta tissue, but not umbilical cord blood, may be epigenetically programmed by maternal GDM, preeclampsia, and obesity to carry out its own specific functions that influence fetal growth.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Queens College, CUNY, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11376, USA

    Yoko Nomura PhD, MPH, Elana Ying Mystal BA, Mordy Grabie BA, Nancy Huynh BA, Jackie Finik BA & Jenny Ly MPhil

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Yoko Nomura PhD, MPH, Elana Ying Mystal BA, Mordy Grabie BA, Isaac Manaster BS, Nancy Huynh BA, Jackie Finik BA, Mia Davey, Kei Davey, Jenny Ly MPhil, Yasmin Hurd PhD & Jeffrey H. Newcorn MD

  3. Department of Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Luca Lambertini PhD, MPH, Alexander Rialdi MPH & Jia Chen ScD

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Luca Lambertini PhD, MPH & MenJean Lee MD

  5. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Joanne Stone MD & Holly Loudon MD, MPH

  6. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Flushing, NY, USA

    Gary Eglinton MD

  7. James J Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA

    Yasmin Hurd PhD

  8. Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Jeffrey H. Newcorn MD & Jia Chen ScD

  9. Department of Oncological Sciences, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Jia Chen ScD

Authors
  1. Yoko Nomura PhD, MPH
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  2. Luca Lambertini PhD, MPH
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  3. Alexander Rialdi MPH
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  4. MenJean Lee MD
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  5. Elana Ying Mystal BA
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  7. Isaac Manaster BS
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  9. Jackie Finik BA
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  10. Mia Davey
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  13. Joanne Stone MD
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  14. Holly Loudon MD, MPH
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  15. Gary Eglinton MD
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  18. Jia Chen ScD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yoko Nomura PhD, MPH.

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Nomura, Y., Lambertini, L., Rialdi, A. et al. Global Methylation in the Placenta and Umbilical Cord Blood From Pregnancies With Maternal Gestational Diabetes, Preeclampsia, and Obesity. Reprod. Sci. 21, 131–137 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719113492206

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719113492206

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