Epigenetic gestational age and the relationship with developmental milestones in early childhood

Gestational DNA methylation age as a marker for fetal development and birth outcomes: findings from the Boston Birth Cohort

BACKGROUND

Gestational DNA methylation age (GAmAge) has been developed and validated in European ancestry samples. Its applicability to other ethnicities and associations with fetal stress and newborn phenotypes such as inflammation markers are still to be determined. This study aims to examine the applicability of GAmAge developed from cord blood samples of European decedents to a racially diverse birth cohort, and associations with newborn phenotypes.

METHODS

GAmAge based on 176 CpGs (Haftorn GAmAge) was calculated for 940 children from a US predominantly urban, low-income, multiethnic birth cohort. Cord blood DNA methylation was profiled by Illumina EPIC array. Newborn phenotypes included anthropometric measurements and, for a subset of newborns (N = 194), twenty-seven cord blood inflammatory markers (sandwich immunoassays).

RESULTS

GAmAge had a stronger correlation with GEAA in boys (r = 0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.87,0.91]) compared with girls (r = 0.83, 95% CI [0.80,0.86]), and was stronger among extremely preterm to very preterm babies (r = 0.91, 95% CI [0.81,0.96]), compared with moderate (r = 0.48, 95% CI [0.34,0.60]) and term babies (r = 0.58, 95% CI [0.53,0.63]). Among White newborns (N = 51), the correlation between GAmAge vs. GEAA was slightly stronger (r = 0.89, 95% CI [0.82,0.94]) compared with Black/African American newborns (N = 668; r = 0.87, 95% CI [0.85,0.89]) or Hispanic (N = 221; r = 0.79, 95% CI [0.74,0.84]). Adjusting for GEAA and sex, GAmAge was associated with anthropometric measurements, cord blood brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) (p < 0.05 for all).

CONCLUSIONS

GAmAge estimation is robust across different populations and racial/ethnic subgroups. GAmAge may be utilized as a proxy for GEAA and for assessing fetus development, indicated by inflammatory state and birth outcomes.

Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences and Biological Aging During Pregnancy and in Newborns

Importance

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), potentially traumatic experiences occurring before the age of 18 years, are associated with epigenetic aging later in life and may be transmitted across generations.

Objective

To test evidence of the transmission of biological embedding of life experience across generations by analyzing maternal ACEs and epigenetic clocks measured in mothers during pregnancy and in their children at birth.

Design, Setting, and Participants

For this cross-sectional study, data from the Accessible Resource for Integrated Epigenomic Studies (ARIES) substudy of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were analyzed. The ALSPAC study recruited 14 541 women who gave birth in the Avon Health District in the UK between April 1, 1991, and December 31, 1992. The ARIES substudy comprised 1018 mother-offspring dyads based on the availability of DNA samples profiled in 2014. Epigenetic age was estimated using DNA methylation-based epigenetic clocks (including Horvath, Hannum, GrimAge, PhenoAge, and DunedinPACE) in mothers during pregnancy and the Knight and Bohlin cord blood epigenetic clocks in newborns. Analyses were performed between October 1, 2022, and November 30, 2023.

Exposures

A composite measure of maternal ACEs was the primary exposure in both maternal and offspring models; as a secondary analysis, individual ACEs were measured separately. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to investigate depression during pregnancy as an exposure.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Changes in epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) were investigated as the primary outcome in maternal models during pregnancy. Changes in epigenetic gestational age acceleration (GAA) were the primary outcome in offspring analyses. Linear regression analyses were used to determine the association between maternal ACEs and both outcomes.

Results

This study included 883 mother-child dyads. The mean (SD) maternal age at delivery was 29.8 (4.3) years. Pregnant women with higher ACE scores exhibited higher GrimAge EAA (β, 0.22 [95% CI, 0.12 to 0.33] years; P < .001). Maternal ACEs were not associated with GAA in newborns using P < .05 as a cutoff to determine statistical significance. Depression was associated with higher GrimAge EAA (β, 0.06 [95% CI, 0.02 to 0.10] years; P = .01) in mothers during pregnancy, but not in newborns, and did not mediate the association between ACEs and EAA.

Conclusions and Relevance

The findings of this study suggest that maternal ACEs may be associated with epigenetic aging later in life, including during pregnancy, supporting a role for maternal ACEs in offspring development and health later in life.

Evidence of reduced gestational age in response to in utero arsenic exposure and implications for aging trajectories of the newborn

Arsenic exposure is associated with a plethora of age-related health outcomes of disparate etiology. However, evidence of the impact of arsenic on aging remains limited. Here, we investigated the utility of epigenetic clocks in two different populations and the impact of maternal arsenic exposure during pregnancy on epigenetic gestational age at birth. To do this, we examined publicly available DNA methylation data and estimated gestational age across five gestational clocks in two unrelated human populations. These populations also differ in the extent of arsenic exposure and the targeted tissue of analysis (cord blood and placental tissue). Our results indicate that same-tissue clocks produce gestational age estimates that are more highly correlated with clinical gestational age. Interestingly, our results also indicate that arsenic exposure is associated with gestational age, with higher arsenic exposures associated with decreased gestational age. We also applied two pediatric clocks to evaluate infant biological age in the same samples. The data is suggestive of higher pediatric age in infants exposed to higher arsenic levels during gestation. Taken altogether, our findings are consistent with past work indicating that that in utero arsenic exposure is associated with decreased gestational maturity as characterized by infant outcomes such as low birthweight and lung underdevelopment and dysfunction in arsenic exposed infants. The findings are also consistent with arsenic exposure setting infants on a trajectory of accelerated epigenetic aging that starts at birth.

Accelerated epigenetic age at birth and child emotional and behavioura development in early childhood: a meta-analysis of four prospective cohort studies in ECHO

Background: 'Epigenetic clocks' have been developed to accurately predict chronologic gestational age and have been associated with child health outcomes in prior work.Methods: We meta-analysed results from four prospective U.S cohorts investigating the association between epigenetic age acceleration estimated using blood DNA methylation collected at birth and preschool age Childhood Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores.Results: Epigenetic ageing was not significantly associated with CBCL total problem scores (β = 0.33, 95% CI: -0.95, 0.28) and DSM-oriented pervasive development problem scores (β = -0.23, 95% CI: -0.61, 0.15). No associations were observed for other DSM-oriented subscales.Conclusions: The meta-analysis results suggest that epigenetic gestational age acceleration is not associated with child emotional and behavioural functioning for preschool age group. These findings may relate to our study population, which includes two cohorts enriched for ASD and one preterm birth cohort.; future work should address the role of epigenetic age in child health in other study populations.Abbreviations: DNAm: DNA methylation; CBCL: Child Behavioral Checklist; ECHO: Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes; EARLI: Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation; MARBLES: Markers of Autism Risk in Babies - Learning Early Signs; ELGAN: Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborns; ASD: autism spectrum disorder; BMI: body mass index; DSM: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Metabolomics profiling of maternal and umbilical cord blood in normoglycemia macrosomia

Background: Macrosomia is a common disorder that occurs during pregnancy. We investigated the comprehensive metabolite profiles of pregnant maternal and fetal sera in normoglycemic macrosomia in a Chinese population. Methods: Forty pregnant women and their fetuses were included in the study (twenty macrosomia patients and twenty normal-weight controls). Maternal and umbilical cord serum metabolites were identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Results: In total, 203 metabolites were identified. Lipids and lipid-like molecules were the predominant metabolites. Fifty-three metabolites with significant differences were obtained in the maternal samples. In the macrosomia group, the levels of docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid were significantly higher than those in the control group. Umbilical cord serum samples were obtained for 24 different metabolites. The maternal-fetal gradient of polyunsaturated fatty acids was decreased in the macrosomia group. Aconitic acid, citric acid, isocitric acid, 2-methylhexanoic acid, and 12-hydroxystearic acid were the common differential metabolites in the maternal and umbilical cord serum samples. Conclusion: There were obvious metabolic abnormalities in the sera of pregnant women and fetuses with macrosomia. Lipids and lipid-like molecules were the predominant differential metabolites but had different classifications in the maternal and umbilical cord serum. These results may provide new insights into the long-term metabolic disorders associated with macrosomia.

Cumulative stress, PTSD, and emotion dysregulation during pregnancy and epigenetic age acceleration in Hispanic mothers and their newborn infants

Pregnancy can exacerbate or prompt the onset of stress-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is associated with heightened stress responsivity and emotional dysregulation, as well as increased risk of chronic disorders and mortality. Further, maternal PTSD is associated with gestational epigenetic age acceleration in newborns, implicating the prenatal period as a developmental time period for the transmission of effects across generations. Here, we evaluated the associations between PTSD symptoms, maternal epigenetic age acceleration, and infant gestational epigenetic age acceleration in 89 maternal-neonatal dyads. Trauma-related experiences and PTSD symptoms in mothers were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy. The MethylationEPIC array was used to generate DNA methylation data from maternal and neonatal saliva samples collected within 24 h of infant birth. Maternal epigenetic age acceleration was calculated using Horvath's multi-tissue clock, PhenoAge and GrimAge. Gestational epigenetic age was estimated using the Haftorn clock. Maternal cumulative past-year stress (GrimAge: p = 3.23e-04, PhenoAge: p = 9.92e-03), PTSD symptoms (GrimAge: p = 0.019), and difficulties in emotion regulation (GrimAge: p = 0.028) were associated with accelerated epigenetic age in mothers. Maternal PTSD symptoms were associated with lower gestational epigenetic age acceleration in neonates (p = 0.032). Overall, our results suggest that maternal cumulative past-year stress exposure and trauma-related symptoms may increase the risk for age-related problems in mothers and developmental problems in their newborns.

Biomarkers of aging through the life course: A Recent Literature Update

Purpose of review

The development of biomarkers of aging has greatly advanced epidemiological studies of aging processes. However, much debate remains on the timing of aging onset and the causal relevance of these biomarkers. In this review, we discuss the most recent biomarkers of aging that have been applied across the life course.

Recent findings

The most recently developed aging biomarkers that have been applied across the life course can be designated into three categories: epigenetic clocks, epigenetic markers of chronic inflammation, and mitochondrial DNA copy number. While these have been applied at different life stages, the development, validation, and application of these markers has been largely centered on populations of older adults. Few studies have examined trajectories of aging biomarkers across the life course. As the wealth of molecular and biochemical data increases, emerging biomarkers may be able to capture complex and system-specific aging processes. Recently developed biomarkers include novel epigenetic clocks; clocks based on ribosomal DNA, transcriptomic profiles, proteomics, metabolomics, and inflammatory markers; clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential gene mutations; and multi-omics approaches.

Summary

Attention should be placed on aging at early and middle life stages to better understand trajectories of aging biomarkers across the life course. Additionally, novel biomarkers will provide greater insight into aging processes. The specific mechanisms of aging reflected by these biomarkers should be considered when interpreting results.