title: Site-specific methylation of placental HSD11B2 gene promoter is related to intrauterine growth restriction.
abstract: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with detrimental effects on neurodevelopmental progress in childhood and higher risk of degenerative diseases in adulthood. Placental 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD11B2) is a key gene involved in glucocorticoid metabolism, which in turn seems to be related to fetal growth impairment. As reduction of placental HSD11B2 gene expression has been associated with reduced human fetal growth, and methylation of HSD11B2 gene promoter has been shown to have an important role in HSD11B2 gene repression, we seek to investigate the relationship between IUGR and HSD11B2 gene promoter methylation in human placentas. We found that methylation levels of all studied CpG sites were significantly higher in IUGR newborns than those in controls. Further, methylation levels of the first and the third CpG sites were inversely associated with measures of fetal growth (birth weight and ponderal index). In addition, consistent with the above negative correlation, methylation levels of the first and the third CpG sites were inversely associated with HSD11B2 gene expression. These results together show a link between the site-specific methylation of placental HSD11B2 promoter and the development of IUGR.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Shanghai Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Luxi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: ShangQin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yunhui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D043209:11-beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 2 / Q000235:genetics*; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight / Q000235:genetics; D018899:CpG Islands / Q000235:genetics; D019175:DNA Methylation; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000235:genetics*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D010331:Paternal Age; D010920:Placenta / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D043209:11-beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 2; C468387:HSD11B2 protein, human