Umbilical Cord Blood miRNA Profiling: Links to Maternal Metabolism and Neonatal Traits

We performed miRNA profiling of umbilical cord plasma (UCP) to investigate the association of circulating neonatal miRNAs with maternal metabolic parameters and neonatal anthropometric, metabolic, and inflammatory characteristics in healthy pregnancies. We collected data and UCP samples from 16 pregnancies, in equal parts with normal weight and overweight mothers, and male and female neonates. We performed next-generation miRNA sequencing and analysed metabolic and inflammatory parameters in UCP. Our results revealed that the majority of UCP miRNAs are sensitive to maternal and neonatal characteristics, particularly to maternal BMI, Our study highlights the susceptibility of UCP miRNAs to maternal metabolism, demonstrates their association with neonatal metabolic and inflammatory traits, and underscores the potential role of circulating umbilical cord blood miRNAs in fetal metabolism and development. Overall design: miRNA sequencing in umbilical cord plasma samples after pregnancies of normal weight (n=8) and overweight (n=8) women