DNA hypermethylation of CD3(+) T cells from cord blood of infants exposed to intrauterine growth restriction.

Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with increased susceptibility to obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Although the mechanisms underlying the developmental origins of metabolic disease are poorly understood, evidence suggests that epigenomic alterations play a critical role. We sought to identify changes in DNA methylation patterns that are associated with IUGR in CD3(+) T cells purified from umbilical cord blood obtained from male newborns who were appropriate for gestational age (AGA) or who had been exposed to IUGR. CD3(+) T cells were isolated from cord blood obtained from IUGR and AGA infants. The genome-wide methylation profile in eight AGA and seven IUGR samples was determined using the HELP tagging assay. Validation analysis using targeted bisulfite sequencing and bisulfite massARRAY was performed on the original cohort as well as biological replicates consisting of two AGA and four IUGR infants. The Segway algorithm was used to identify methylation changes within regulatory regions of the genome. A global shift towards hypermethylation in IUGR was seen compared with AGA (89.8% of 4,425 differentially methylated loci), targeted to regulatory regions of the genome, specifically promoters and enhancers. Pathway analysis identified dysregulation of pathways involved in metabolic disease (type 2 diabetes mellitus, insulin signalling, mitogen-

Evidence level

Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.

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