Fetal Growth Restriction and Methylation of Growth-Related Genes in the Placenta

Abstract

Aim: To examine the associations between fetal growth restriction (FGR) and DNA methylation of six growth-related genes in human placenta. Materials & methods: A total of 181 mother-newborn pairs (80 FGR cases and 101 controls) were enrolled in this case–control study. Placental DNA methylation was measured by bisulfite pyrosequencing. Results: DNA methylation levels of IGF2 and AHRR were positively associated with newborn birth weight and Quetelet’s index, while DNA methylation levels of HSD11B2 and WNT2 were negatively associated with those fetal growth indicators. In addition, significantly elevated odds of FGR birth were associated with increasing DNA methylation of HSD11B2 and WNT2, and decreasing DNA methylation of IGF2. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that placental DNA methylation levels of IGF2, AHRR, HSD11B2 and WNT2 were associated with measures of fetal growth.

Keywords::

• birth weight
• case–control study
• DNA methylation
• fetal growth restriction
• placenta

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Financial & competing interests disclosure

The present work was in part supported by funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant 81072263 to Y Zhang) and from the NIH (R01ES020268, R01ES021357, R01NR013945, P30ES00002). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.

Additional information

Funding

The present work was in part supported by funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant 81072263 to Y Zhang) and from the NIH (R01ES020268, R01ES021357, R01NR013945, P30ES00002). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.