Role of African ancestry and gene-environment interactions in predicting preterm birth.

Objective: To estimate whether African ancestry, specific gene polymorphisms, and gene-environment interactions could account for some of the unexplained preterm birth variance within African American women.

Methods: We genotyped 1,509 African ancestry-informative markers, cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1), and glutathione S-transferases Theta 1 (GSTT1) variants in 1,030 self-reported African American mothers. We estimated the African ancestral proportion using the ancestry-informative markers for all 1,030 self-reported African American mothers.

Race, ancestry, and development of food-allergen sensitization in early childhood.

Objective: We examined whether the risk of food-allergen sensitization varied according to self-identified race or genetic ancestry.

Methods: We studied 1104 children (mean age: 2.7 years) from an urban multiethnic birth cohort.

Associations between gene polymorphisms in fatty acid metabolism pathway and preterm delivery in a US urban black population.

There is increasing evidence suggesting that higher intakes of fish or n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplements may decrease the risk of preterm delivery (PTD). We hypothesized that genetic variants of the enzymes critical to fatty acids biosynthesis and metabolism may be associated with PTD. We genotyped 231 potentially functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and tagSNPs in 9 genes (FADS1, FADS2, PTGS1, PTGS2, ALOX5, ALOX5AP, PTGES, PTGES2, and PTGES3) among 1,110 black mothers, including 542 mothers who delivered preterm (<37 weeks gestation) and 568 mothers who delivered full-term babies (≥37 weeks gestation) at Boston Medical Center.

Association of antenatal steroid use with cord blood immune biomarkers in preterm births.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of maternal administration of antenatal steroids (ANS) on cord blood cytokine levels at birth in preterm infants.

Methods: Cord blood cytokine concentrations were measured for pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8); anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β); and neurotrophic cytokines (BDNF, NT-3, and NT-4) in two hundred preterm infants. Data were analyzed using multivariable linear regression to model the independent and joint effects of ANS and inflammation on mean log cord blood cytokine concentrations adjusted for gestational age and Apgar scores.

Placental inflammatory response is associated with poor neonatal growth: preterm birth cohort study.

Objective: We sought to determine whether placental markers of intrauterine inflammation were associated with poor weight gain among premature infants in the neonatal period.

Methods: We reviewed 697 preterm births prospectively enrolled as part of an ongoing molecular epidemiological study. Placental markers and serial weight gain were analyzed for premature infants who were hospitalized for >/=21 days (N = 256).

Maternal obesity, diabetes mellitus and cord blood biomarkers in large-for-gestational age infants.

Infants born large-for-gestational age (LGA) are at risk for early childhood obesity. The aims of this study were to investigate factors associated with LGA status and their relationship to inflammatory biomarkers that have been implicated in the LGA infant at birth. Included were 364 mother-infant pairs enrolled as part of an ongoing longitudinal cohort study of infant birth weight being conducted at Boston Medical Center (BMC).

Cord blood biomarkers of the fetal inflammatory response.

Objective: In current, neonatal practice, clinical signs of intrauterine infection (IUI) are often non-specific. From a large panel of immune biomarkers, we seek to identify cord blood markers that are most strongly associated with the fetal inflammatory response (FIR), a specific placental lesion associated with serious neonatal complications.

Methods: We used multiplex immunoassay to measure 27 biomarkers, selected as part of an NIH-funded study of preterm birth, according to gestational age (GA) and extent of placental inflammation: involvement of chorion, amnion, decidua (maternal inflammatory response, MIR); extension to umbilical cord or chorionic plate (FIR).

Association of genetic ancestry with preterm delivery and related traits among African American mothers.

Objective: In the United States, the rate of preterm delivery (PTD) is higher in African Americans (17.8%) than non-Hispanic whites (11.5%).

Differential patterns of 27 cord blood immune biomarkers across gestational age.

Objectives: Inflammation has been associated with preterm delivery and adverse neonatal outcomes such as cerebral palsy and chronic lung disease. However, no study to date has simultaneously examined a wide range of inflammatory mediators and their relationship to gestational age. We sought to describe the distribution of immune biomarkers in cord blood across gestational age and to investigate the association between biomarker level patterns and preterm birth.

The joint association between F5 gene polymorphisms and maternal smoking during pregnancy on preterm delivery.

Factor V (F5) genetic variants and maternal smoking during pregnancy individually has been associated with increased risk of preterm delivery (PTD). We hypothesize that F5 gene and maternal smoking may synergistically increase the risk of PTD. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in F5 gene (rs6019, rs2213869 and rs6022) were genotyped in 542 mothers with PTD and 1,141 mothers with term deliveries at the Boston Medical Center.

Maternal cigarette smoking, metabolic gene polymorphisms, and preterm delivery: new insights on GxE interactions and pathogenic pathways.

Preterm delivery (PTD, <37 weeks of gestation) is a significant clinical and public health problem. Previously, we reported that maternal smoking and metabolic gene polymorphisms of CYP1A1 MspI and GSTT1 synergistically increase the risk of low birth weight. This study investigates the relationship between maternal smoking and metabolic gene polymorphisms of CYP1A1 MspI and GSTT1 with preterm delivery (PTD) as a whole and preterm subgroups.