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Volqvartz T, Andersen HHB, Pedersen LH, Larsen A. Obesity in pregnancy-Long-term effects on offspring hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and associations with placental cortisol metabolism: A systematic review. Eur J Neurosci 2023; 58:4393-4422. [PMID: 37974556 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Obesity, affecting one in three pregnant women worldwide, is not only a major obstetric risk factor. The resulting low-grade inflammation may have a long-term impact on the offspring's HPA axis through dysregulation of maternal, placental and fetal corticosteroid metabolism, and children born of obese mothers have increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The long-term effects of maternal obesity on offspring neurodevelopment are, however, undetermined and could depend on the specific effects on placental and fetal cortisol metabolism. This systematic review evaluates how maternal obesity affects placental cortisol metabolism and the offspring's HPA axis. Pubmed, Embase and Scopus were searched for original studies on maternal BMI, obesity, and cortisol metabolism and transfer. Fifteen studies were included after the screening of 4556 identified records. Studies were small with heterogeneous exposures and outcomes. Two studies found that maternal obesity reduced placental HSD11β2 activity. In one study, umbilical cord blood cortisol levels were affected by maternal BMI. In three studies, an altered cortisol response was consistently seen among offspring in childhood (n = 2) or adulthood (n = 1). Maternal BMI was not associated with placental HSD11β1 or HSD11β2 mRNA expression, or placental HSD11β2 methylation. In conclusion, high maternal BMI is associated with reduced placental HSD11β2 activity and a dampened cortisol level among offspring, but the data is sparse. Further investigations are needed to clarify whether the HPA axis is affected by prenatal factors including maternal obesity and investigate if adverse effects can be ameliorated by optimising the intrauterine environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tabia Volqvartz
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Lars Henning Pedersen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Biomedicine, Pharmacology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Agnete Larsen
- Department of Biomedicine, Pharmacology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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Finik J, Buthmann J, Zhang W, Go K, Nomura Y. Placental Gene Expression and Offspring Temperament Trajectories: Predicting Negative Affect in Early Childhood. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 48:783-795. [PMID: 32185610 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-020-00632-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to prenatal stress increases offspring risk for long-term neurobehavioral impairments and psychopathology, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Epigenetic regulation of glucocorticoid pathway genes may be a potential underlying mechanism by which maternal conditions 'program' the fetal brain for downstream vulnerabilities. The present study aims to investigate whether mRNA expression of glucocorticoid pathway genes in the placenta predict offspring negative affect during early childhood (between 6 and 24 months). Participants include 318 mother-child dyads participating in a longitudinal birth cohort study. Placental mRNA expression of glucocorticoid pathway genes (HSD11B1, HSD11B2, NR3C1, NCOR2) were profiled and negative affect traits of the offspring were measured at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. HSD11B1 mRNA expression significantly predicted negative affect (β = -.09, SE = .04; p = .036), and Distress to Limitations trajectories (β = -.13, SE = .06; p = .016). NCOR2 mRNA expression significantly predicted Distress to Limitations (β = .43, SE = .21; p = .047), and marginally predicted Sadness trajectories (β = .39, SE = .21; p = .068). HSD11B2 and NR3C1 did not predict trajectories of Negative Affect or subscale scores. Infant negative affect traits were assessed via maternal self-report, and deviated from linearity across follow-up. mRNA expression of glucocorticoid pathway genes in the placenta may be a potentially novel tool for early identification of infants at greater risk for elevated negative affect. Further study is needed to validate the utility of mRNA expression of glucocorticoid pathway genes in the placenta.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Finik
- CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, 55 W 125th St., New York, NY, 10027, USA.
- CUNY Queens College, Department of Psychology, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA.
| | - J Buthmann
- CUNY Queens College, Department of Psychology, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA
- CUNY Graduate Center, Department of Psychology, 365 5th Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - W Zhang
- CUNY Queens College, Department of Psychology, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA
- New Jersey City University, Department of Psychology, 2039 John Fitzgerald Kennedy Blvd, Jersey City, NJ, 07305, USA
| | - K Go
- CUNY Queens College, Department of Psychology, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA
- Nova Southeastern University, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, 3301 College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314, USA
| | - Y Nomura
- CUNY Queens College, Department of Psychology, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA
- CUNY Graduate Center, Department of Psychology, 365 5th Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA
- CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, Graduate Center, 85 St Nicholas Terrace, New York, NY, 10031, USA
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Department of Psychiatry, 1 Gustave Levy Pl, New York, NY, 10029, USA
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Matsumoto M, Tsuchiya KJ, Yaguchi C, Horikoshi Y, Furuta-Isomura N, Oda T, Kohmura-Kobayashi Y, Tamura N, Uchida T, Itoh H. The fetal/placental weight ratio is associated with the incidence of atopic dermatitis in female infants during the first 14 months: The Hamamatsu Birth Cohort for Mothers and Children (HBC Study). Int J Womens Dermatol 2020; 6:176-181. [PMID: 32637540 PMCID: PMC7330435 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijwd.2020.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Among atopic diseases, atopic dermatitis is the most common allergic disease in children and influences both infantile and parental quality of life. Objective The present study investigated the sex-specific relationship between the fetal/placental weight ratio and The incidence of atopic dermatitis in infants during the first 14 months of life. Methods Study participants were 922 infants (462 female and 460 male) from singleton pregnancies enrolled in the Hamamatsu Birth Cohort for Mothers and Children (HBC Study) after the exclusion of 298 with missing data on atopic dermatitis. The enrollment of infants with atopic dermatitis was based on a positive response from parents regarding whether a physician had ever diagnosed their child with atopic dermatitis by 14 months of age. The two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum test or χ2 test was adopted for descriptive analyses where appropriate. Unadjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the infantile incidence of atopic dermatitis were compared using logistic regression analyses. Results Maternal and perinatal factors did not correlate with the incidence of infantile atopic dermatitis. Fetal/placental weight ratio, but not birth or placental weight, correlated with the incidence of atopic dermatitis in female, but not male, infants. A correlation was still observed after adjustments for maternal allergies, gestational age at birth, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and household income at birth (odds ratio: 1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-2.33). Conclusion We speculated that the intrauterine fetal environment, represented by a relatively small placenta, programs a predisposition in only female infants to atopic dermatitis during the first 14 months of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masako Matsumoto
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | - Kenji J Tsuchiya
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | - Chizuko Yaguchi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | - Yoshimasa Horikoshi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | - Naomi Furuta-Isomura
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | - Tomoaki Oda
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | - Yukiko Kohmura-Kobayashi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | - Naoaki Tamura
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | - Toshiyuki Uchida
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Itoh
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
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Lemche E, Chaban OS, Lemche AV. Neuroendocrinological and Epigenetic Mechanisms Subserving Autonomic Imbalance and HPA Dysfunction in the Metabolic Syndrome. Front Neurosci 2016; 10:142. [PMID: 27147943 PMCID: PMC4830841 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Impact of environmental stress upon pathophysiology of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been substantiated by epidemiological, psychophysiological, and endocrinological studies. This review discusses recent advances in the understanding of causative roles of nutritional factors, sympathomedullo-adrenal (SMA) and hypothalamic-pituitary adrenocortical (HPA) axes, and adipose tissue chronic low-grade inflammation processes in MetS. Disturbances in the neuroendocrine systems for leptin, melanocortin, and neuropeptide Y (NPY)/agouti-related protein systems have been found resulting directly in MetS-like conditions. The review identifies candidate risk genes from factors shown critical for the functioning of each of these neuroendocrine signaling cascades. In its meta-analytic part, recent studies in epigenetic modification (histone methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination) and posttranscriptional gene regulation by microRNAs are evaluated. Several studies suggest modification mechanisms of early life stress (ELS) and diet-induced obesity (DIO) programming in the hypothalamic regions with populations of POMC-expressing neurons. Epigenetic modifications were found in cortisol (here HSD11B1 expression), melanocortin, leptin, NPY, and adiponectin genes. With respect to adiposity genes, epigenetic modifications were documented for fat mass gene cluster APOA1/C3/A4/A5, and the lipolysis gene LIPE. With regard to inflammatory, immune and subcellular metabolism, PPARG, NKBF1, TNFA, TCF7C2, and those genes expressing cytochrome P450 family enzymes involved in steroidogenesis and in hepatic lipoproteins were documented for epigenetic modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erwin Lemche
- Section of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London London, UK
| | - Oleg S Chaban
- Section of Psychosomatic Medicine, Bogomolets National Medical University Kiev, Ukraine
| | - Alexandra V Lemche
- Department of Medical Science, Institute of Clinical Research Berlin, Germany
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Expression of epigenetic machinery genes is sensitive to maternal obesity and weight loss in relation to fetal growth in mice. Clin Epigenetics 2016; 8:22. [PMID: 26925174 PMCID: PMC4769534 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-016-0188-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2015] [Accepted: 02/12/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maternal obesity impacts fetal growth and pregnancy outcomes. To counteract the deleterious effects of obesity on fertility and pregnancy issue, preconceptional weight loss is recommended to obese women. Whether this weight loss is beneficial/detrimental for offspring remains poorly explored. Epigenetic mechanisms could be affected by maternal weight changes, perturbing expression of key developmental genes in the placenta or fetus. Our aim was to investigate the effects of chronic maternal obesity on feto-placental growth along with the underlying epigenetic mechanisms. We also tested whether preconceptional weight loss could alleviate these effects. RESULTS Female mice were fed either a control diet (CTRL group), a high-fat diet (obese (OB) group), or a high-fat diet switched to a control diet 2 months before conception (weight loss (WL) group). At mating, OB females presented an obese phenotype while WL females normalized metabolic parameters. At embryonic day 18.5 (E18.5), fetuses from OB females presented fetal growth restriction (FGR; -13 %) and 28 % of the fetuses were small for gestational age (SGA). Fetuses from WL females normalized this phenotype. The expression of 60 epigenetic machinery genes and 32 metabolic genes was measured in the fetal liver, placental labyrinth, and junctional zone. We revealed 23 genes altered by maternal weight trajectories in at least one of three tissues. The fetal liver and placental labyrinth were more responsive to maternal obesity than junctional zone. One third (18/60) of the epigenetic machinery genes were differentially expressed between at least two maternal groups. Interestingly, genes involved in the histone acetylation pathway were particularly altered (13/18). In OB group, lysine acetyltransferases and Bromodomain-containing protein 2 were upregulated, while most histone deacetylases were downregulated. In WL group, the expression of only a subset of these genes was normalized. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the high sensitivity of the epigenetic machinery gene expression, and particularly the histone acetylation pathway, to maternal obesity. These obesity-induced transcriptional changes could alter the placental and the hepatic epigenome, leading to FGR. Preconceptional weight loss appears beneficial to fetal growth, but some effects of previous obesity were retained in offspring phenotype.
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Green BB, Armstrong DA, Lesseur C, Paquette AG, Guerin DJ, Kwan LE, Marsit CJ. The Role of Placental 11-Beta Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1 and Type 2 Methylation on Gene Expression and Infant Birth Weight. Biol Reprod 2015; 92:149. [PMID: 25788665 DOI: 10.1095/biolreprod.115.128066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal stress has been linked to infant birth weight outcomes, which itself may be associated with health later in life. The placenta acts as a master regulator for the fetal environment, mediating intrauterine exposures to stress through the activity of genes regulating glucocorticoids, including the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD11B) type 1 and 2 genes, and so we hypothesized that variation in these genes will be associated with infant birth weight. We investigated DNA methylation levels at six sites across the two genes, as well as mRNA expression for each, and the relationship to infant birth weight. Logistic regressions correcting for potential confounding factors revealed a significant association between methylation at a single CpG site within HSD11B1 and being born large for gestational age. In addition, our analysis identified correlations between methylation and gene expression, including sex-specific transcriptional regulation of HSD11B2. Our work is one of the first comprehensive views of DNA methylation and expression in the placenta for both HSD11B types 1 and 2, linking epigenetic alterations with the regulation of fetal stress and birth weight outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin B Green
- Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology and of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
| | - David A Armstrong
- Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology and of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
| | - Corina Lesseur
- Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology and of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
| | - Alison G Paquette
- Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology and of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
| | - Dylan J Guerin
- Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology and of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
| | - Lauren E Kwan
- Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology and of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
| | - Carmen J Marsit
- Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology and of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
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Romano ME, Savitz DA, Braun JM. Challenges and future directions to evaluating the association between prenatal exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals and childhood obesity. CURR EPIDEMIOL REP 2014; 1:57-66. [PMID: 25328860 PMCID: PMC4199333 DOI: 10.1007/s40471-014-0007-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Obesity is an increasing public health threat worldwide. However, there has been insufficient research addressing the obesogenic potential of prenatal exposure to environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals, largely due to complexities in the design, analysis, and interpretation of such studies. This review describes relevant biological mechanisms, addresses current challenges for investigators, presents potential strategies for overcoming them, and identifies areas where further development is required to improve future research. Special considerations for exposure assessment, outcome heterogeneity, and complex confounding structures are described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan E. Romano
- Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - David A. Savitz
- Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - Joseph M. Braun
- Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
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