Erythrocyte folate concentrations, CpG methylation at genomically imprinted domains, and birth weight in a multiethnic newborn cohort.

Abstract

Epigenetic mechanisms are proposed to link maternal concentrations of methyl group donor nutrients with the risk of low birth weight. However, empirical data are lacking. We have examined the association between maternal folate and birth weight and assessed the mediating role of DNA methylation at nine differentially methylated regions (DMRs) of genomically imprinted genes in these associations. Compared with newborns of women with folate levels in the lowest quartile, birth weight was higher in newborns of mothers in the second (β = 143.2, se = 63.2, P = 0.02), third (β = 117.3, se = 64.0, P = 0.07), and fourth (β = 133.9, se = 65.2, P = 0.04) quartiles, consistent with a threshold effect. This pattern of association did not vary by race/ethnicity but was more apparent in newborns of non-obese women. DNA methylation at the PLAGL1, SGCE, DLK1/MEG3 and IGF2/H19 DMRs was associated with maternal folate levels and also birth weight, suggestive of threshold effects. MEG3 DMR methylation mediated the association between maternal folate levels and birth weight (P =0.06). While the small sample size and partial scope of examined DMRs limit our conclusions, our data suggest that, with respect to birth weight, no additional benefits may be derived from increased maternal folate concentrations, especially in non-obese women. These data also support epigenetic plasticity as a key mechanistic response to folate availability during early fetal development.

Department

Description

Provenance

Subjects

Erythrocytes, Humans, Birth Weight, Folic Acid, Cohort Studies, DNA Methylation, Epigenesis, Genetic, Genomic Imprinting, CpG Islands, Pregnancy, Adolescent, Adult, Infant, Newborn, Continental Population Groups, Ethnic Groups, Female, Male, Young Adult

Citation

Published Version (Please cite this version)

10.4161/epi.29332

Publication Info

Hoyo, Cathrine, Anne Kjersti Daltveit, Edwin Iversen, Sara E Benjamin-Neelon, Bernard Fuemmeler, Joellen Schildkraut, Amy P Murtha, Francine Overcash, et al. (2014). Erythrocyte folate concentrations, CpG methylation at genomically imprinted domains, and birth weight in a multiethnic newborn cohort. Epigenetics, 9(8). pp. 1120–1130. 10.4161/epi.29332 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/24655.

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Scholars@Duke

Iversen

Edwin Severin Iversen

Research Professor of Statistical Science

Bayesian statistical modeling with application to problems in genetic
epidemiology and cancer research; models for epidemiological risk
assessment, including hierarchical methods for combining related
epidemiological studies; ascertainment corrections for high risk
family data; analysis of high-throughput genomic data sets.

Schildkraut

Joellen Martha Schildkraut

Professor Emeritus in Family Medicine and Community Health

Dr. Schildkraut is an epidemiologist whose research includes the molecular epidemiology of ovarian, breast and brain cancers. Dr. Schildkraut's research interests include the study of the interaction between genetic and environmental factors. She is currently involved in a large study of genome wide association and ovarian cancer risk and survival. Some of her work is also focused on particular genetic pathways including the DNA repair and apoptosis pathways. She currently leads a study of African American women diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She is also collaborating in a large a case-control study of meningioma risk factors and with which a genome wide association analysis is about to commence.

Kurtzberg

Joanne Kurtzberg

Jerome S. Harris Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics

Dr. Kurtzberg is an internationally renowned expert in pediatric hematology/oncology, pediatric blood and marrow transplantation, umbilical cord blood banking and transplantation, and novel applications of cord blood and birthing tissues in the emerging fields of cellular therapies and regenerative medicine.   Dr. Kurtzberg serves as the Director of the Marcus Center for Cellular Cures (MC3), Director of the Pediatric Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program, Director of the Carolinas Cord Blood Bank, and Co-Director of the Stem Cell Transplant Laboratory at Duke University.  The Carolinas Cord Blood Bank is an FDA licensed public cord blood bank distributing unrelated cord blood units for donors for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) through the CW Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program.  The Robertson GMP Cell Manufacturing Laboratory supports manufacturing of RETHYMIC (BLA, Enzyvant, 2021), allogeneic cord tissue derived and bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), and DUOC, a microglial/macrophage cell derived from cord blood.

Dr. Kurtzberg’s research in MC3 focuses on translational studies from bench to bedside, seeking to develop transformative clinical therapies using cells, tissues, molecules, genes, and biomaterials to treat diseases and injuries that currently lack effective treatments. Recent areas of investigation in MC3 include clinical trials investigating the safety and efficacy of autologous and allogeneic cord blood in children with neonatal brain injury – hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), cerebral palsy (CP), and autism. Clinical trials testing allogeneic cord blood are also being conducted in adults with acute ischemic stroke. Clinical trials optimizing manufacturing and testing the safety and efficacy of cord tissue MSCs in children with autism, CP and HIE and adults with COVID-lung disease are underway. DUOC, given intrathecally, is under study in children with leukodystrophies and adults with primary progressive multiple sclerosis.

In the past, Dr. Kurtzberg has developed novel chemotherapeutic drugs for acute leukemias, assays enumerating ALDH bright cells to predict cord blood unit potency, methods of cord blood expansion, potency assays for targeted cell and tissue based therapies. Dr. Kurtzberg currently holds several INDs for investigational clinical trials from the FDA.  She has also trained numerous medical students, residents, clinical and post-doctoral fellows over the course of her career.


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