title: Inter- and intra-individual variation in allele-specific DNA methylation and gene expression in children conceived using assisted reproductive technology.
abstract: Epidemiological studies have reported a higher incidence of rare disorders involving imprinted genes among children conceived using assisted reproductive technology (ART), suggesting that ART procedures may be disruptive to imprinted gene methylation patterns. We examined intra- and inter-individual variation in DNA methylation at the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) of the IGF2/H19 and IGF2R loci in a population of children conceived in vitro or in vivo. We found substantial variation in allele-specific methylation at both loci in both groups. Aberrant methylation of the maternal IGF2/H19 DMR was more common in the in vitro group, and the overall variance was also significantly greater in the in vitro group. We estimated the number of trophoblast stem cells in each group based on approximation of the variance of the binomial distribution of IGF2/H19 methylation ratios, as well as the distribution of X chromosome inactivation scores in placenta. Both of these independent measures indicated that placentas of the in vitro group were derived from fewer stem cells than the in vivo conceived group. Both IGF2 and H19 mRNAs were significantly lower in placenta from the in vitro group. Although average birth weight was lower in the in vitro group, we found no correlation between birth weight and IGF2 or IGF2R transcript levels or the ratio of IGF2/IGF2R transcript levels. Our results show that in vitro conception is associated with aberrant methylation patterns at the IGF2/H19 locus. However, very little of the inter- or intra-individual variation in H19 or IGF2 mRNA levels can be explained by differences in maternal DMR DNA methylation, in contrast to the expectations of current transcriptional imprinting models. Extraembryonic tissues of embryos cultured in vitro appear to be derived from fewer trophoblast stem cells. It is possible that this developmental difference has an effect on placental and fetal growth.
authors.affiliation: Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Nahid
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Turan
authors.forename: Sunita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Katari
authors.forename: Leigh F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Gerson
authors.forename: Raffi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chalian
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gaughan
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coutifaris
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sapienza
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D002452:Cell Count; D019175:DNA Methylation; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II / Q000235:genetics*; D010920:Placenta / Q000166:cytology; D011247:Pregnancy; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000235:genetics*; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: C094335:H19 long non-coding RNA; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding; D022661:RNA, Untranslated; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II