title: Quantification of the placental epigenetic signature of the SERPINB5 gene in maternal plasma of pregnancies complicated by small for gestational age.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To investigate the association between pregnancies with small for gestational age (SGA) neonates and the concentration of cell-free fetal DNA or cell-free total DNA in maternal plasma during the first and second trimesters using tissue-specific epigenetic characteristics of the SERPINB5 gene.
  
  
  METHODS
  A nested case-control study was conducted with maternal plasma collected at 11 to 26 gestational weeks from 51 women with SGA neonates and 102 controls. We performed a real-time quantitative methylation-specific PCR to quantify concentrations of unmethylated-SERPINB5 (U-SERPINB5) as a cell-free fetal DNA marker and methylated-SERPINB5 (M-SERPINB5) as a cell-free total DNA marker.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A positive correlation was observed between U-SERPINB5 and M-SERPINB5 concentrations in both control (r = 0.363, p < 0.001) and SGA groups (r = 0.548, p < 0.001). Moreover, the concentration of U-SERPINB5 or M-SERPINB5 was significantly positive correlated with gestational age at sampling in both controls (U-SERPINB5: r = 0.397, p < 0.001; M-SERPINB5: r = 0.275, p = 0.005) and SGA (U-SERPINB5: r = 0.274, p = 0.052; M-SERPINB5: r = 0.439, p = 0.001). However, the concentration of U-SERPINB5 or M-SERPINB5 was not correlated with birthweight. At 11-14 weeks, U-SERPINB5 and M-SERPINB5 concentrations in SGA did not differ significantly from those of controls. There were also no statistically significant differences in the concentrations of U-SERPINB5 and M-SERPINB5 between SGA and controls at 15-26 weeks of gestation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that U-SERPINB5 and M-SERPINB5 concentrations in maternal plasma during early pregnancy are not associated with pregnancies who delivered SGA neonates.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Medical Research Institute, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Medical Research Institute, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Medical Research Institute, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Medical Research Institute, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Medical Research Institute, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Medical Research Institute, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: hmryu@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Ryu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D015843:Serpins / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: C085344:SERPIN-B5; D015843:Serpins
keywords: Cell-free fetal DNA; Cell-free total DNA; DNA methylation; Maternal plasma; SERPINB5 gene; Small for gestational age