Fetal sex-specific epigenetic associations with prenatal maternal depressive symptoms
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Prenatal maternal mental health is a global health challenge with poorly defined biological mechanisms. We used maternal blood samples collected during second trimester from a Singaporean longitudinal birth cohort study to examine the association between inter-individual genome-wide DNA methylation and prenatal maternal depressive symptoms. We found that 1) the maternal methylome was significantly associated with prenatal maternal depressive symptoms; 2) surprisingly, this finding was apparent only in mothers with a female fetus; and 3) we replicated the sex-dependent association using a comparable, UK-based birth cohort study. Qualitative analyses showed fetal sex-specific differences in genomic features of depression-related CpGs and genes mapped from these CpGs in mothers with female fetuses implicated a depression-associated WNT/ β-catenin signalling pathway. These same genes also showed enriched expression in brain regions linked to major depressive disorder. The fetal sex-dependency of our findings provide evidence for novel maternal – fetal interactions as a mechanism for intergenerational transmission.
Source: iScience
Institutions: Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, University of British Columbia, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, OLVG, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, University of Auckland, National University of Singapore, Duke-NUS Medical School
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,000
Funders: Wellcome Trust, National Research Foundation, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, National Research Foundation Singapore, National University Health System, Medical Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, National Medical Research Council
Awards: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC): A multi-generation, longitudinal resource, The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC): A multi- generation, longitudinal resource focusing on life course health and well- being., Accessible resource for integrated epigenomics studies (ARIES), The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children: An international resource for population
genomics and lifecourse epidemiology. Core Programme Support 2011-2015 and Core programme support 2014-2019, Accessible resource for integrated epigenomics studies (ARIES), G606602278, G8290846567
OpenAlex ID: W4289755411