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Immune Response Gene Profiles in the Term Placenta Depend Upon Maternal Muscle Mass

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Abstract

Maternal thinness leads to metabolic challenges in the offspring, but it is unclear whether reduced maternal fat mass or muscle mass drives these metabolic changes. Recently, it has been shown that low maternal muscle mass—as measured by arm muscle area (AMA)—is associated with depressed nutrient transport to the fetus. To determine the role of maternal muscle mass on placental function, we analyzed the gene expression profiles of 30 human placentas over the range of AMA (25.2-90.8 cm2) from uncomplicated term pregnancies from the Southampton Women’s Survey cohort. Eighteen percent of the ∼60 genes that were highly expressed in less muscular women were related to immune system processes and the interferon-γ (IFNG) signaling pathway in particular. Those transcripts related to the IFNG pathway included IRF1, IFI27, IFI30, and GBP6. Placentas from women with low muscularity are, perhaps, more sensitive to the effects of inflammatory cytokines than those from more muscular women.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Heart Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, 3303 SW Bond Ave, CH15H, Portland, OR, USA

    P. F. O’Tierney PhD, D. J. Barker MD, PhD & Kent L. Thornburg PhD

  2. Institute of Developmental Sciences, University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK

    R. M. Lewis PhD & M. A. Hanson DPhil

  3. Division of Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    S. K. McWeeney PhD

  4. Division of Biostatistics, Public Health & Preventative Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    S. K. McWeeney PhD

  5. OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    S. K. McWeeney PhD

  6. Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    S. K. McWeeney PhD

  7. Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Unit in Nutrition, Diet & Lifestyle, University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK

    M. A. Hanson DPhil, C. Cooper DM & K. M. Godfrey PhD

  8. MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road, Southampton, UK

    H. M. Inskip PhD, C. Cooper DM & K. M. Godfrey PhD

  9. Department of Pathology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    T. K. Morgan MD

  10. Dept of Medicine (Hematology & Medical Oncology), Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    G. Bagby MD

  11. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Kent L. Thornburg PhD

  12. Department of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine), Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Kent L. Thornburg PhD

Authors
  1. P. F. O’Tierney PhD
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  2. R. M. Lewis PhD
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  4. M. A. Hanson DPhil
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  5. H. M. Inskip PhD
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  6. T. K. Morgan MD
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  7. D. J. Barker MD, PhD
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  8. G. Bagby MD
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  9. C. Cooper DM
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  11. Kent L. Thornburg PhD
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Correspondence to Kent L. Thornburg PhD.

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O’Tierney, P.F., Lewis, R.M., McWeeney, S.K. et al. Immune Response Gene Profiles in the Term Placenta Depend Upon Maternal Muscle Mass. Reprod. Sci. 19, 1041–1056 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719112440051

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