Temporal Transcriptomic Analysis of Metabolic Genes in Maternal Organs and Placenta During Murine Pregnancy.
Publication Title
Biology of reproduction
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-23-2018
Abstract
Maternal pregnancy adaptation is crucial for fetal development and long-term health. Complex interactions occur between maternal digestive and excretory systems as they interface with the developing fetus through the placenta, and transcriptomic regulation in these organs throughout pregnancy is poorly understood. Our objective is to characterize transcriptomic changes across gestation in maternal organs and placenta. Gene expression was quantified in the kidney, liver and small intestine harvested from non-pregnant and pregnant FVB mice at 4 time points and placenta at 3 time points (N = 5/time point) using Affymetrix Mouse Gene 1.0 ST arrays. In maternal organs, we identified 476 genes in the liver, 207 genes in the kidney, and 27 genes in the small intestine that were differentially expressed across gestation (FDR adjusted q < 0.05). The placenta had a total of 1576 differentially expressed genes between the placenta at either/gd15 or gd19 compared to gd10. We identified a number of pathways enriched for genes differentially expressed across gestation, including 5 pathways in the placenta, 9 pathways in the kidney, and 28 pathways in the liver, including the citrate cycle, retinol metabolism, bile acid synthesis and steroid bile synthesis, which play functional roles in fetal development and pregnancy maintenance. Characterization of normal longitudinal changes that occur in pregnancy, provides context to understand how perturbations in these biochemical pathways and perturbations in nutrient signaling may impact pregnancy.
Area of Special Interest
Women & Children
Specialty/Research Institute
Institute for Systems Biology
Specialty/Research Institute
Obstetrics & Gynecology
