Transcriptome changes affecting Hedgehog and cytokine signalling in the umbilical cord: implications for disease risk.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Babies born at lower gestational ages or smaller birthweights have a greater risk of poorer health in later life. Both the causes of these sub-optimal birth outcomes and the mechanism by which the effects are transmitted over decades are the subject of extensive study. We investigated whether a transcriptomic signature of either birthweight or gestational age could be detected in umbilical cord RNA.

Methods

The gene expression patterns of 32 umbilical cords from Singaporean babies of Chinese ethnicity across a range of birthweights (1698-4151 g) and gestational ages (35-41 weeks) were determined. We confirmed the differential expression pattern by gestational age for 12 genes in a series of 127 umbilical cords of Chinese, Malay and Indian ethnicity.

Results

SUBMITTER: Stunkel W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3393728 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature