BMC Pediatrics (May 2025)

Lipid metabolism dysregulation in umbilical cord plasma of newborns from mothers with preeclampsia is associated with neonatal physical parameters at birth

  • Jing Ding,
  • Yihan Xiao,
  • Jie Fu,
  • Qionghui Huang,
  • Zijun Ma,
  • Chao Zhang,
  • Yan Wang,
  • Guoli Liu,
  • Hongkun Wu,
  • Yifang Yuan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-025-05744-z
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 25, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Background Preeclampsia is linked to fetal growth restriction and may have long-term implications for the offspring. Despite its significance, the fundamental mechanisms remain inadequately elucidated. The objective of this investigation was to undertake an untargeted lipidomics analysis of umbilical cord plasma, with the intention of investigating lipidomic profile alterations in newborns of mothers with preeclampsia and evaluating the associations between lipidomic patterns and neonatal physical parameters at birth. Methods 25 newborns from mothers with preeclampsia (PE group) and 25 newborns from healthy mothers (control group) were involved in the present investigation. Untargeted lipidomics was performed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) to contrast the lipid compositions present in umbilical cord plasma. Co-expression correlation analysis was performed to explore the relationships between lipidomic patterns and neonatal weight and length percentile at birth. Results Marked discrepancies in lipid metabolism profiles were detected in the comparison of the PE and control groups. In total, 364 separate lipids were noted, with AcylGlcADG (20:3–22:6–22:6) and GM3(d39:1) exhibiting the most significant decreases. Conversely, Cer-NS (d20:1–24:0) and DGTS (2:0–19:0) displayed the most significant increases. The primary lipid metabolic pathways altered in newborns from mothers with preeclampsia were enriched in choline and glycerophospholipid metabolic processes. Additionally, 20 distinct lipids exhibited significant associations with neonatal birth weight percentile between the two groups, while 21 distinct lipids showed significant associations with neonatal birth length percentile. Conclusions Lipid profile disorders were identified in the umbilical cord plasma of infants born to mothers with preeclampsia, and the metabolic disturbances identified in this group correlated with neonatal physical parameters at birth. These findings suggest that lipidomic disorders in newborns from preeclamptic mothers may correlate with intrauterine growth outcomes.

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