Impact of pregnancy metabolome on birthweight variations

Avani Dave, Jai Hind College

The metabolomics assays have been gaining traction as they allow the simultaneous identification of hundreds of molecular metabolic products, present in biofluids and describes the exogenous exposures along with the downstream signalling response initiated thereafter. A well-registered benefit of the metabolomics assay lies in its capability to demonstrate associations with disease manifestation along with plotting the signalling that helps in correlating metabolites circulation with cellular health. Documentation reveals how the environment and molecular links are considered relevant when monitoring fetal development and growth. This has led to a shift of focus towards maternal metabolomes analysis during pregnancy, E. Colicino., et al. were aiming towards identifying the impact of pregnancy metabolome on birth weight variations using this shift to guide the course of their study. The weight of the newborn has been thought to indicate the overall growth during the fetal stage followed by the potential health risk that the newborn might experience later during their life span. It is not unusual to link low and/or high weight at birth with childhood morbidity caused by one of the many disorders that seep into adulthood like, asthma, cognitive defects, bone defects, cardiovascular defects, etc. making it a useful diagnostic feature. 

Results 

Out of the 1110 metabolites that were analyzed, 46 of them displayed U-shape associations in relation to the BWGA z-score. The majority of the recognized metabolites (85%) lipids and their presence was seen to be essential for multiple key pathways during pregnancy. Metabolites that belonged to a particular class demonstrated a synergistic association with the other member metabolites. For instance, all the members of the steroids class showed this association, and a similar trend was observed for the metabolites belonging to the phospholipids class.

Discussion

The newly formulated Bayesian factor analysis was incorporated with an interaction-oriented framework for analyzing the metabolomics data and to evaluate the non-linear and non-additive associations between maternal serum metabolites and sex-related birth weight for gestational age (BWGA) z-score. This approach avails analysis of the intricate correlational aspect of the entire metabolic profile, therefore averting potential issues arising due to multiple comparison frameworks. Along with this, the researchers also cross-referenced these results with a more traditional metabolomic-wide association study (MWAS) analysis. The tradition analysis provides an individual association of each metabolite with BWGA z-score and the demonstrated outcomes are cohesively regulated for multiple testing methods. There are several studies that have utilized the urinary metabolome which successfully denote the levels of lipids and hormones involved in gestation and parturition. Despite this, the blood metabolome is considered to have more elevated levels of these key molecules thereby revealing advanced associations.

Conclusions 

The results from this study evidently demonstrate linear, non-linear, and synergistic associations between maternal metabolome at the time of pregnancy and the variation of birth weight and its corresponding effect on fetal development. Out of the several identified metabolites, the most common ones were lipids which were enhanced for mechanistic processes linked to energy synthesis, immune response, or metabolism of androgen and estrogen, which are central requirements during pregnancy and parturition. It is therefore essential to encourage such similar studies establishing the contributions made by the maternal metabolomics profile on fetal growth and thereby allowing an all-around development. 

Also read: Can stomatal pores close on the whim of humans?

Source: E. Colicino, F. Ferrari, W. Cowell., et al. (2021) Non-linear and non-additive associations between the pregnancy metabolome and birthweight. Environment International, Volume 156, 106750, ISSN 0160-4120.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106750.

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Author Info: Avani Dave is currently in the final year of her bachelor’s degree, majoring in Life Sciences. Holding a good academic and extra-curricular record, she is on a constant journey of acquiring exposure in her field of interest while simultaneously not limiting herself to just that. Avani likes studying Diseases and Syndromes and everything under this umbrella! That being said, she is adept at working across departments and promises to deliver.