| Context-dependent features of transcriptomic landscapes in pregnant mother-neonate dyads of preeclampsia |
Yu-Chun Cheng1 
, Yun-Ju Lai2
, Wei-Shiung Lian3,4
, Ching-Chang Tsai2
, Hsin-Hsin Cheng2
, Hong-Ren Yu1
, Mao-Meng Tiao1
, Jiunn-Ming Sheen1
, Ying-Lun Hsu1
, Feng-Sheng Wang3,4
, I-Chun Lin1
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1Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung , Taiwan
2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
3Core Laboratory for Phenomics and Diagnostics, Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
4Center for Mitochondrial Research and Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan |
Correspondence:
Feng-Sheng Wang, Email: uc22@cgmh.org.tw
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Received: 26 October 2025 • Revised: 17 December 2025 • Accepted: 23 December 2025 |
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| Abstract |
Background
Preeclampsia (PE) is a serious complication of pregnancy that affects the offspring and mothers. Those with a history of PE are at higher risk of future cardiometabolic diseases, the etiology of which remains uncertain.
Purpose
To investigate the transcriptomic profiles of mothers and neonates to determine whether certain genes are commonly affected after shared exposure to PE.
Methods
In this observational study, pregnant motherneonate dyads with PE and healthy normotensive mothers were prospectively recruited. We used RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis to characterize the transcriptomic profiles of maternal blood leukocytes (MBLs), cord blood leukocytes (CBLs), and umbilical arterial and venous endothelial cells (UAECs and UVECs, respectively). These results were further validated using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.
Results
Gene expression during the perinatal/peripartum period was context-dependent in patients with PE and involved various signaling pathways. Inflammationand immune-related signaling pathways in maternal blood and coagulation-related signaling pathways in cord blood were upregulated in the PE group compared to those in the control group. Ten differentially expressed genes were commonly affected in MBLs and CBLs. Maternal LMNA and CBL levels of MAST4 differentiated those with PE from those with normotension in a gestational- age-adjusted model. Maternal levels of ADAMTS2 and CBL levels of ADAMTS2, GABRE, and MMP8 independently determined neonatal gestational age and birth weight. CBL MMP8 levels independently determined maternal blood pressure. However, the transcriptomic profiles of endothelial cells differ from those of blood leukocytes. Heart morphogenesis-related signaling pathways in UAECs and leukocyte cell-cell adhesion-related signaling pathways in UVECs were more involved in PE. The messenger RNA levels of FAT3 and SLC25A18 in the UAECs were higher in the PE group than in the control group.
Conclusion
Perinatal and peripartum genes in PE are expressed in a context-dependent manner via diverse signaling pathways, with little overlap between mothers and neonates. |
| Key Words:
Preeclampsia, Mothers, Newborn, Gene expression profiling, Developmental origins of health and disease |
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