Maternal obesity affects fetal neurodevelopmental and metabolic gene expression

To investigate fetal gene expression in obese compared to lean women in the second trimester, by performing global gene expression analysis of amniotic fluid (AF) cell-free RNA Analysis of paired data from obese cases and lean controls revealed differential expression of 205 genes. Functional analysis of differentially expressed genes suggested down-regulation of apoptosis in fetuses of obese women, particularly within nervous system pathways involving the cerebral cortex, and activation of pro-estrogenic, pro-inflammatory transcriptional regulators. Prospective whole transcriptome microarray study analyzing cell-free RNA in AF from obese cases and lean controls in the second trimester. Significantly differentially-regulated genes in fetuses of obese cases (N= 8) vs. matched lean controls (N = 8) were identified and functional analyses were performed. Tissue-specific differential gene expression in fetuses of obese women was also examined.