| 1. |
- Huusko, Johanna M, et al.
(author)
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Integrative genetic, genomic and transcriptomic analysis of heat shock protein and nuclear hormone receptor gene associations with spontaneous preterm birth.
- 2021
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In: Scientific reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 11:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Heat shock proteins are involved in the response to stress including activation of the immune response. Elevated circulating heat shock proteins are associated with spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB). Intracellular heat shock proteins act as multifunctional molecular chaperones that regulate activity of nuclear hormone receptors. Since SPTB has a significant genetic predisposition, our objective was to identify genetic and transcriptomic evidence of heat shock proteins and nuclear hormone receptors that may affect risk for SPTB. We investigated all 97 genes encoding members of the heat shock protein families and all 49 genes encoding nuclear hormone receptors for their potential role in SPTB susceptibility. We used multiple genetic and genomic datasets including genome-wide association studies (GWASs), whole-exome sequencing (WES), and placental transcriptomics to identify SPTB predisposing factors from the mother, infant, and placenta. There were multiple associations of heat shock protein and nuclear hormone receptor genes with SPTB. Several orthogonal datasets supported roles for SEC63, HSPA1L, SACS, RORA, and AR in susceptibility to SPTB. We propose that suppression of specific heat shock proteins promotes maintenance of pregnancy, whereas activation of specific heat shock protein mediated signaling may disturb maternal-fetal tolerance and promote labor.
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| 2. |
- Pasanen, Anu, et al.
(author)
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Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of gestational duration and spontaneous preterm birth identifies new maternal risk loci.
- 2023
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In: PLoS genetics. - 1553-7404. ; 19:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Preterm birth (<37 weeks of gestation) is a major cause of neonatal death and morbidity. Up to 40% of the variation in timing of birth results from genetic factors, mostly due to the maternal genome.We conducted a genome-wide meta-analysis of gestational duration and spontaneous preterm birth in 68,732 and 98,370 European mothers, respectively.The meta-analysis detected 15 loci associated with gestational duration, and four loci associated with preterm birth. Seven of the associated loci were novel. The loci mapped to several biologically plausible genes, for example HAND2 whose expression was previously shown to decrease during gestation, associated with gestational duration, and GC (Vitamin D-binding protein), associated with preterm birth. Downstream in silico-analysis suggested regulatory roles as underlying mechanisms for the associated loci. LD score regression found birth weight measures as the most strongly correlated traits, highlighting the unique nature of spontaneous preterm birth phenotype. Tissue expression and colocalization analysis revealed reproductive tissues and immune cell types as the most relevant sites of action.We report novel genetic risk loci that associate with preterm birth or gestational duration, and reproduce findings from previous genome-wide association studies. Altogether, our findings provide new insight into the genetic background of preterm birth. Better characterization of the causal genetic mechanisms will be important to public health as it could suggest new strategies to treat and prevent preterm birth.
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