Epigenetic regulation by hypoxia, N-acetylcysteine and hydrogen sulphide of the fetal vasculature in growth restricted offspring: A study in humans and chicken embryos.

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is a common outcome in human suboptimal gestation and is related to prenatal origins of cardiovascular dysfunction in offspring. Despite this, therapy of human translational potential has not been identified. Using human umbilical and placental vessels and the chicken embryo model, we combined cellular, molecular, and functional studies to determine whether N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and hydrogen sulphide (HS) protect cardiovascular function in growth-restricted unborn offspring.

Non-Infectious Uveitis and Pregnancy, is There an Optimal Treatment? Uveitis Course and Safety of Uveitis Treatment in Pregnancy.

In pregnancy, a plethora of factors causes changes in maternal immunity. Uveitis flare-ups are more frequent in the first trimester and in undertreated patients. Management of non-infectious uveitis during pregnancy remains understudied.

Maternal obesity and high leptin levels prime pro-inflammatory pathways in human cord blood leukocytes.

Introduction: Maternal obesity alters the immune function in the offspring. We hypothesize that maternal obesity and pro-inflammatory pathways induce leptin-related genes in neonatal monocytes, whereby high leptin levels enhance their inflammatory response.

Methods: Transcriptional profiles of cord blood leukocytes (CBL) in basal and pro-inflammatory conditions were studied to determine differentially expressed genes (DEG).

Specific arterio-venous transcriptomic and ncRNA-RNA interactions in human umbilical endothelial cells: A meta-analysis.

Whether arterial-venous differences of primary endothelial cells commonly used for vascular research are preserved remains under debate. To address this issue, a meta-analysis of Affymetrix transcriptomic data sets from human umbilical artery (HUAECs) and vein (HUVEC) endothelial cells was performed. The meta-analysis showed 2,742 transcripts differentially expressed (false discovery rate <0.

miRNA Landscape in Pathogenesis and Treatment of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease.

miRNAs, one of the members of the noncoding RNA family, are regulators of gene expression in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Changes in miRNA pool expression have been associated with differentiation of CD4 T cells toward an inflammatory phenotype and with loss of self-tolerance in autoimmune diseases. Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease is a chronic multisystemic pathology, affecting the uvea, inner ear, central nervous system, and skin.

Dynamic DNA methylation changes in early versus late adulthood suggest nondeterministic effects of childhood adversity: a meta-analysis.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with a high risk of developing chronic diseases and decreased life expectancy, but no ACE epigenetic biomarkers have been identified until now. The latter may result from the interaction of multiple factors such as age, sex, degree of adversity, and lack of transcriptional effects of DNA methylation changes. We hypothesize that DNA methylation changes are related to childhood adversity levels and current age, and these markers evolve as aging proceeds.

Maternal obesity is associated with a sex-specific epigenetic programming in human neonatal monocytes.

To determine changes in global DNA methylation in monocytes from neonates of women with obesity, as markers of an immune programming resulting from maternal obesity. Cord blood monocytes were obtained from neonates born to women with obesity and normal weight, genome-wide differentially methylated CpGs were determined using an Infinium MethylationEPIC-BeadChip (850K). No clustering of samples according to maternal BMI was observed, but sex-specific analysis revealed 71,728 differentially methylated CpGs in female neonates from women with obesity (p < 0.