GEOapplication/xmlftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/series/GSE307nnn/GSE307129/primaryOK200Methylation profilingHomo sapiensMethylation profiling by high throughput sequencinghttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE307129GEOGSEfalsePrenatal cell-free DNA methylome detects association with autism and maternal obesityEarly identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains a critical challenge, particularly in utero when non-genetic factors such as maternal obesity (MO) are implicated. Here, we report results of whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from third-trimester maternal plasma in a high-likelihood ASD pregnancy cohort associated with child (3 y) ASD diagnosis and/or MO. Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) between ASD and control cfDNA were strongly enriched for synaptic functions and genes previously implicated in ASD. These cfDNA ASD DMRs recapitulated those observed in ASD placenta and postmortem cortex and significantly overlapped with MO DMRs. Our findings establish cfDNA methylation derived from maternal blood as a minimally invasive window into fetal brain ASD etiology, providing a framework for future mechanistic and early intervention studies. Future studies could investigate additional prenatal environmental exposures interacting with genetics during neurodevelopment.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 sapiens