Associations of maternal stress, gene expression, and newborn birthweight in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Autor: Hsiao CJ; Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608.; Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608.; College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608., Quinn EB; Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608.; Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608., Maisha FM; Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608.; Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608.; HEAL Africa Hospital, Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.; Maisha Institute, Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo., Nevell LD; Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608.; Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608., Mulligan CJ; Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608.; Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: American journal of biological anthropology [Am J Biol Anthropol] 2024 Apr; Vol. 183 (4). Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Oct 27.
DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24862
Abstrakt: Objectives: Maternal stress has long been associated with lower birthweight, which is associated with adverse health outcomes including many adult diseases. The underlying mechanisms remain elusive although changes in gene expression may play a role. Studies are only beginning to test how maternal stress impacts gene expression as reflected in the transcriptome.
Materials and Methods: In a cohort of mothers and newborns in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (n=93), we studied the effects of four maternal stress measures (chronic stress, war trauma, sexual trauma, and general trauma) on the transcriptomes of maternal venous blood, newborn venous blood, and placental tissues, and on newborn birthweight. Maternal stress was investigated as independent measures, principal components, and clusters identified through machine learning. The transcriptome was assayed using the ClariomD chip. Multiple regression models were used to test for associations between maternal stress measures, the transcriptome, and newborn birthweight.
Results: None of the maternal stress measures showed an association with expression of individual genes. In contrast, when testing global gene expression, war trauma was significantly associated with the placental transcriptome. War trauma was also significantly associated with birthweight in multiple models. Mediation analysis indicated that ~14% of the effect of war trauma on birthweight was mediated by a placental gene expression component.
Discussion: Our results suggest that gene expression in the placenta, which represents the interface between mother and developing fetus, may partially mediate the negative impact of maternal stress on newborn birthweight.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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