Extensive Placental Methylation Profiling in Normal Pregnancies

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Luciano Calzari¹  Luigi Corsaro²  Davide Gentilini²  Tatjana Radaelli³  Enrico Ferrazzi³  Silvia Tabano⁴  Patrizia Colapietro⁴  Monica Miozzo⁵  SilviaMaria Sirchia⁵  Ornella Rondinone⁶  Silvia Motta⁶  Laura Fontana⁶  Alessio Murgia⁶  Jole Costanza⁶  Margherita Camanni⁶  Carlo Santaniello⁶  Silvano Bosari⁷ 

[1] Bioinformatics and Statistical Genomics Unit, Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, 20095 Cusano Milanino, Milan, Italy;Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, Università di Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy;Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20122 Milan, Italy;Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Medical Genetics, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milan, Italy;Medical Genetics, Department of Health Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milano, Italy;Research Laboratories Coordination Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20122 Milan, Italy;Scientific Direction, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20122 Milan, Italy;

关键词: placenta;    methylome;    LINE-1;    birth weight;    normal pregnancies;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms22042136

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The placental methylation pattern is crucial for the regulation of genes involved in trophoblast invasion and placental development, both key events for fetal growth. We investigated LINE-1 methylation and methylome profiling using a methylation EPIC array and the targeted methylation sequencing of 154 normal, full-term pregnancies, stratified by birth weight percentiles. LINE-1 methylation showed evidence of a more pronounced hypomethylation in small neonates compared with normal and large for gestational age. Genome-wide methylation, performed in two subsets of pregnancies, showed very similar methylation profiles among cord blood samples while placentae from different pregnancies appeared very variable. A unique methylation profile emerged in each placenta, which could represent the sum of adjustments that the placenta made during the pregnancy to preserve the epigenetic homeostasis of the fetus. Investigations into the 1000 most variable sites between cord blood and the placenta showed that promoters and gene bodies that are hypermethylated in the placenta are associated with blood-specific functions, whereas those that are hypomethylated belong mainly to pathways involved in cancer. These features support the functional analogies between a placenta and cancer. Our results, which provide a comprehensive analysis of DNA methylation profiling in the human placenta, suggest that its peculiar dynamicity can be relevant for understanding placental plasticity in response to the environment.

【 授权许可】

Unknown