Gene expression in cord blood links genetic risk for neurodevelopmental disorders with maternal psychological distress and adverse childhood outcomes.

Gene expression in cord blood links genetic risk for neurodevelopmental disorders with maternal psychological distress and adverse childhood outcomes. Brain Behav Immun. 2018 May 20;: Authors: Breen MS, Wingo AP, Koen N, Donald KA, Nicol M, Zar HJ, Ressler KJ, Buxbaum JD, Stein DJ Abstract Prenatal exposure to maternal stress and depression has been identified as a risk factor for adverse behavioral and neurodevelopmental outcomes in early childhood. However, the molecular mechanisms through which maternal psychopathology shapes offspring development remain poorly understood. We applied transcriptome-wide screens to 149 umbilical cord blood samples from neonates born to mothers with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n=20), depression (n=31) and PTSD with comorbid depression (n=13), compared to carefully matched trauma exposed controls (n=23) and healthy mothers (n=62). Analyses by maternal diagnoses revealed a clear pattern of gene expression signatures distinguishing neonates born to mothers with a history of psychopathology from those without. Co-expression network analysis identified distinct gene expression perturbations across maternal diagnoses, including two depression-related modules implicated in axon-guidance and mRNA stability, as well as two PTSD-related modules implicated in TNF signaling and cellular response to stress. Notably, these disease-related modules were enriched with brain-expressed genes and genetic risk l...
Source: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Brain Behav Immun Source Type: research