Abstract
BackgroundIn the early-life environment, proper development of the placenta is essential for both fetal and maternal health. Telomere length at birth has been related to life expectancy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) as potential epigenetic determinants of telomere length at birth have not been identified. In this study, we investigate whether placental miRNA expression is associated with placental telomere length at birth.MethodsWe measured the expression of seven candidate miRNAs (miR-16-5p, -20a-5p, -21-5p, -34a-5p, 146a-5p, -210-3p and -222-3p) in placental tissue at birth in 203 mother-newborn (51.7% girls) pairs from the ENVIRONAGE birth cohort. We selected miRNAs known to be involved in crucial cellular processes such as inflammation, oxidative stress, cellular senescence related to aging. Placental miRNA expression and relative average placental telomere length were measured using RT-qPCR.ResultsBoth before and after adjustment for potential covariates including newborn’s ethnicity, gestational age, paternal age, maternal smoking status, maternal educational status, parity, date of delivery and outdoor temperature during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, placental miR-34a, miR-146a, miR-210 and miR-222 expression were significantly (p ≤ 0.03) and positively associated with placental relative telomere length in newborn girls. In newborn boys, only higher expression of placental miR-21 was weakly (p = 0.08) associated with shorter placental telomere length. Significant miRNAs explain around 6–8% of the telomere length variance at birth.ConclusionsPlacental miR-21, miR-34a, miR-146a, miR-210 and miR-222 exhibit sex-specific associations with telomere length in placenta. Our results indicate miRNA expression in placental tissue could be an important determinant in the process of aging starting from early life onwards.
Highlights
In the early-life environment, proper development of the placenta is essential for both fetal and maternal health
We have previously shown that placental miRNA expression, including miR-20a, miR-21, miR-34a, miR-146a, miR-210 and miR-222, is linked to maternal exposure to air pollution (PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)) [38] and/or pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) [39]
We investigate the potential association of these candidate placental miRNA expression and biological aging at birth as reflected by placental telomere length
Summary
In the early-life environment, proper development of the placenta is essential for both fetal and maternal health. Telomere length at birth has been related to life expectancy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) as potential epigenetic determinants of telomere length at birth have not been identified. We investigate whether placental miRNA expression is associated with placental telomere length at birth. There is supporting evidence that adverse effects in the early-life environment can pose a risk of developing diseases in later-life, a concept known as “Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)” [1]. Epigenetic mechanisms, including microRNA (miRNA) expression modulation, may influence the fetal environment and programming [3] and subsequently the offspring’s health in adulthood. Telomeres shorten after each cellular division till a critical length known as “Hayflick limit” [5], as a result of the inability of DNA polymerase to completely replicate the lagging DNA strand [6]
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