학술논문
Cord blood epigenome-wide meta-analysis in six European-based child cohorts identifies signatures linked to rapid weight growth
Document Type
article
Author
Rossella Alfano; Daniela Zugna; Henrique Barros; Mariona Bustamante; Leda Chatzi; Akram Ghantous; Zdenko Herceg; Pekka Keski-Rahkonen; Theo M. de Kok; Tim S Nawrot; Caroline L Relton; Oliver Robinson; Theano Roumeliotaki; Augustin Scalbert; Martine Vrijheid; Paolo Vineis; Lorenzo Richiardi; Michelle Plusquin
Source
BMC Medicine, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-20 (2023)
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
1741-7015
Abstract
Abstract Background Rapid postnatal growth may result from exposure in utero or early life to adverse conditions and has been associated with diseases later in life and, in particular, with childhood obesity. DNA methylation, interfacing early-life exposures and subsequent diseases, is a possible mechanism underlying early-life programming. Methods Here, a meta-analysis of Illumina HumanMethylation 450K/EPIC-array associations of cord blood DNA methylation at single CpG sites and CpG genomic regions with rapid weight growth at 1 year of age (defined with reference to WHO growth charts) was conducted in six European-based child cohorts (ALSPAC, ENVIRONAGE, Generation XXI, INMA, Piccolipiù, and RHEA, N = 2003). The association of gestational age acceleration (calculated using the Bohlin epigenetic clock) with rapid weight growth was also explored via meta-analysis. Follow-up analyses of identified DNA methylation signals included prediction of rapid weight growth, mediation of the effect of conventional risk factors on rapid weight growth, integration with transcriptomics and metabolomics, association with overweight in childhood (between 4 and 8 years), and comparison with previous findings. Results Forty-seven CpGs were associated with rapid weight growth at suggestive p-value