DNA methylation profiling of cord blood progenitor endothelial cells from overweight and GDM pregnancies

Fetal progenitor endothelial cells (endothelial colony forming cells; ECFC) are recruited for repair, vascular growth and angiogenesis and their high abundance perinatally suggests a function in postnatal vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. In this study we profiled ECFCs from pregnancies of control, overweight and diabetic mothers to study if adverse pregnancies are associated with epigenetic variation in ECFCs. Endothelial progenitor cells (ECFC - Endothelial Colony Forming Cells) were isolated from cord blood from 20 control (healthy BMI), 20 overweight (high BMI) and 20 GDM (Gestational Diabetes Mellitus) pregnancies. ECFCs were cultured in vitro from total cord blood cells.