Genomic imprinting refers to silencing of one parental allele in the zygotes of gametes depending upon the parent of origin. Loss of imprinting (LOI) is the gain of function from the silent allele that can have a maximum effect of doubling the gene dosage. LOI may play a significant role in the etiology of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Using placental tissue from ten normal and seven IUGR pregnancies, we conducted a systematic survey of the expression of a panel of 74 "putatively" imprinted genes using quantitative RT-PCR. We found that 52/74 (~70%) of the genes were expressed in human placentas. Nine of the 52 (17%) expressed genes were significantly differentially expressed between normal and IUGR placentas; five were upregulated (PHLDA2, ILK2, NNAT, CCDC86, PEG10) and four downregulated (PLAGL1, DHCR24, ZNF331, CDKAL1). We also assessed LOI profile of 14 imprinted genes in 14 normal and 24 IUGR placentas using a functional and sensitive assay developed in our laboratory. Little LOI was observed in any placentas for five of the genes (PEG10, PHLDA2, MEG3, EPS15, CD44). With the 149 heterozygosities examined, 40 (26.8%) exhibited LOI >3%. Some genes exhibited frequent LOI in placentas regardless of the disease status (IGF2, TP73, MEST, SLC22A18, PEG3), while others exhibited LOI only in IUGR placentas (PLAGL1, DLK1, H19, SNRPN). Importantly, there was no correlation between gene expression and LOI profile. Our study suggests that genomic imprinting may play a role in IUGR pathogenesis, but mechanisms other than LOI may contribute to dysregulation of imprinted genes. IntroductionGenomic imprinting refers to silencing of one parental allele in the zygotes of gametes depending upon the parent of origin; this silencing occurs via epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation and/or histone modification. 1 It has been hypothesized in the "parental conflict" theory that paternally expressed genes favors the utilization of maternal resources for the benefit of the offspring while the maternally expressed genes act to preserve such resources. Thus, imprinted genes that are paternally expressed (maternally imprinted) are predicted to promote growth of the offspring, either in utero or in perinatal period, whilst maternally expressed (paternally imprinted) genes would act as growth suppressors to assure appropriate allocation of limited maternal resources to each conceptus. 2 Consequently, imprinted genes play critical roles in regulation of growth and development; disruption of this critical process, such as loss of imprinting (LOI), has been associated with a wide range of human diseases including birth defects neurodevelopmental disorders and cancer. [3][4][5][6][7] Compared to other mammalian genomes such as that of the mouse, the human genome is imprinted to a much lesser degree, possibly due to a lack of competition for maternal resources because human pregnancies are typically singletons. 8 The estimated number of imprinted genes is ~100-200 (<1% of the genome). This limited number of imprinted genes affo...

Loss of imprinting (LOI)is the gain of expression from the silent allele of an imprinted gene normally expressed from only one parental copy. LOI has been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and reproductive abnormalities. The mechanisms of imprinting are varied, with DNA methylation representing only one. We have developed a functional transcriptional assay for LOI that is not limited to a single mechanism of imprinting. The method employs allele-specific PCR analysis of RT-PCR products containing common readout polymorphisms. With this method, we are able to measure LOI at the sensitivity of 1%. The method has been applied to measurement of LOI in human placentas. We found that RNA was stable in placentas stored for more than one hour at 4°C following delivery. We analyzed a test panel of 26 genes known to be imprinted in the human genome. We found that 18 genes were expressed in placenta. Fourteen of the 18 expressed genes contained common readout polymorphisms in the transcripts with a minor allele frequency >20%. We found that 5 of the 14 genes were not imprinted in placenta. Using the remaining nine genes, we examined 93 heterozygosities in 27 samples. The range of LOI was 0%-96%. Among the 93 heterozygosities, we found 23 examples (25%) had LOI >3% and eight examples (9%) had LOI 1-3%. Our results indicate that LOI is common in human placentas. Because LOI in placenta is common, it may be an important new biomarker for influences on prenatal epigenetics.

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A complex network of epigenetic factors participates in regulating the monoallelic expression of a small subset of genes (~1%) in the human genome. This phenomenon goes under the definition of genomic imprinting, a parent-of-origin effect that, when altered during early embryogenesis, may influence fetal development into adulthood. Pertubations in genomic imprinting have been associated with placental and fetal growth restrictions. We analyzed the differential DNA methylation of all known imprinted genes on 10 appropriate-for-gestational-age, clinically normal, placentas and 7 severe intrauterine growth-restricted placentas. Samples were pooled according to the diagnosis and analyzed by methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) on a tiling microarray platform. The distribution of the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) identified in growth-restricted placentas showed a slight tendency toward hypermethylation. Imprinted genes not expressed in placenta showed a unique DMR profile with the fewest hyper- and hypomethylated DMRs. Promoter and CpG island DMRs were sporadic and randomly distributed. The vast majority of DMR identified (~99%) were mapped in introns, showing no common sequence features. Also, by using the more advanced array data mining softwares, no significant patterns emerged. In contrast, differential methylation showed a highly significant correlation with gene length. Overall these data suggest that differential methylation changes in growth-restricted placentas occur throughout the genomic regions, encompassing genes actively expressed in the placenta. These findings warrant caution in interpreting the significance of genes carrying clustered DMRs because the distribution of DMRs in a gene may be attributed as a function of its length rather than as a specific biological role.

Objective Slight perturbations in maternal sex steroid production and metabolism may interfere with normal fetal neurodevelopment. The balance of maternal estrogens and androgens may have direct fetal effects, may influence the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis or may alter local hormonal activity within the fetal brain. We investigated maternal functional polymorphisms of CYP17, CYP19 and CYP1B1, which control three major enzymatic steps in sex steroid biosynthesis and metabolism, in relation to childhood behaviors. Methods The Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Study enrolled a multiethnic urban pregnancy cohort from 1998–2002 (n = 404). DNA was obtained from maternal blood (n=149) and from neonatal cord blood (n=53). At each visit, mothers completed the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC), a parent-reported questionnaire used to evaluate children for behavior problems. We focused on problem behaviors more commonly associated with ADHD (hyperactivity, attention problems, externalizing behaviors, conduct disorder, poor adaptability) to see if maternal genetic variants in sex steroid production and metabolism influence sexually-dimorphic behaviors in offspring. Results The more active gene variants were significantly associated with Attention Problems and poorer Adaptive Skills in male compared to female offspring. The CYP19 variant allele was also significantly associated with worse scores for boys on the Hyperactivity, Externalizing Problems Composite and Adaptive Skills Composite scales (p < 0.05). Conclusion We observed maladaptive behaviors in the male offspring of mothers who carried functional polymorphisms in the sex steroid pathway. The strongest associations were in domains commonly affected in Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder.