Aim: The placenta-brain axis reflects a developmental linkage where disrupted placental function is associated with impaired neurodevelopment later in life. Placental gene expression and the expression of epigenetic modifiers such as miRNAs may be tied to these impairments and are understudied. Materials & methods: The expression levels of mRNAs (n = 37,268) and their targeting miRNAs (n = 2083) were assessed within placentas collected from the ELGAN study cohort (n = 386). The ELGAN adolescents were assessed for neurocognitive function at age 10 and the association with placental mRNA/miRNAs was determined. Results: Placental mRNAs related to inflammatory and apoptotic processes are under miRNA control and associated with cognitive impairment at age 10. Conclusion: Findings highlight key placenta epigenome-brain relationships that support the developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis.
Keywords: cognition; epigenetics; epigenome; mRNA; miRNA; placenta.
Children born extremely preterm are at increased risk for neurodevelopmental impairments such as cerebral palsy, intellectual disability and autism. The biological processes that lead to these impairments likely begin before birth and involve altered placental function. In this study, the authors analyzed placental genomic and epigenomic data from children who were born extremely preterm in relation to cognitive assessments at 10 years of age. They examined the differences between the expression of placental genes and molecules that influence the expression of placental genes, comparing children who had impaired cognition at 10 years with children who did not. The results demonstrated elevated expression levels of genes involved in inflammatory processes and molecules that control the expression of these genes within the placentas of children who had impaired cognition at age 10.