Maternal Vitamin D deficiency induces transcriptomic changes in newborn rat lungs

Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy is common and is related to several maternal and fetal morbidities. Past studies suggest that vitamin D plays a role in normal lung development and we have shown that vitamin D regulates lung alveolar and vascular growth and preserves lung structure in experimental bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) through improved pro-angiogeneic signaling. In addition, maternal vitamin D deficiency causes abnormal airway, alveolar, and vascular growth, as well as impaired lung function and airway hyper-reactivity in newborn rats. However, the mechanisms responsible for these physiologic effects are unknown. To gain insight into the role that maternal vitamin D status has on fetal lung development we used an unbiased transcriptomic approach to identify pathways altered in the lungs of offspring from vitamin D deficient dams.妊娠期维生素D缺乏较为常见，且与多种母体及胎儿并发症相关。既往研究表明，维生素D参与正常肺发育进程；本团队此前已证实，在实验性支气管肺发育不良（bronchopulmonary dysplasia, BPD）模型中，维生素D可通过增强促血管生成信号通路，调控肺肺泡与血管生长，并维持肺组织结构完整。此外，母体维生素D缺乏可导致新生大鼠气道、肺泡及血管生长异常，同时伴随肺功能受损与气道高反应性。然而，介导上述生理效应的具体分子机制尚未明确。为深入探究母体维生素D状态对胎儿肺发育的调控作用，本研究采用无偏转录组学方法（unbiased transcriptomic approach），筛选维生素D缺乏孕鼠子代肺组织中表达异常的信号通路。