Histological Chorioamnionitis Induces Differential Gene Expression in Human Cord Blood Mononuclear Leukocytes from Term Neonates

Human transcriptome array analysis of human cord blood mononuclear leokocytes from neonates exposed to histological chorioamnionitis and compared with healthy neonates Histological chorioamnionitis (HCA) is an infection of fetal membranes and complicates 5.2% to 28.5% of all live births. Exposure to HCA may have long-term consequences including an increased risk for allergic disorders and asthma later in childhood, the mechanism(s) of which are still not yet well understood. Our objective was to determine the mRNA transcriptome of cord blood mononuclear leukocytes from term neonates and identify key genes and pathways involved in HCA. We found several key genes differentially expressed with exposure to HCA. These transcriptomes included novel genes and pathways associated with exposure to HCA. The differential gene expression included the key genes regulating inflammatory, immune, respiratory and neurological pathways, which may contribute to disorders in those pathways in neonates exposed to HCA. We analyzed gene expression from cord blood mononuclear leukocytes (5 histological chorioamnionitis exposed neonates and 5 healthy control neonates) using the Affymetrix Human transcriptome array 2.0. Array data was processed by Affymetrix Array Computational Tool.