Transcriptome analysis of early pregnancy vitamin D status and spontaneous preterm birth.

Abstract

BackgroundWe conducted a literature review on the studies that investigated the relationship of preterm birth, including spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), with vitamin D status. Overall, these studies demonstrated that the incidence of sPTB was associated with maternal vitamin D insufficiency in early pregnancy. However, the potential mechanisms and biological pathways are unknown.ObjectivesTo investigate early pregnancy gene expression signatures associated with both vitamin D insufficiency and sPTB. We further constructed a network of these gene signatures and identified the common biological pathways involved.Study designWe conducted peripheral blood transcriptome profiling at 10-18 weeks of gestation in a nested case-control cohort of 24 pregnant women who participated in the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial (VDAART). In this cohort, 8 women had spontaneous preterm delivery (21-32 weeks of gestation) and 17 women had vitamin D insufficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D ResultAt 10-18 weeks of gestation, 146 differentially expressed genes (25 upregulated) were associated with both vitamin D insufficiency and sPTB in the discovery cohort (FDR ConclusionsOur gene expression study and network analyses suggest that the dysregulation of immune response pathways due to early pregnancy vitamin D insufficiency may contribute to the pathobiology of sPTB.