Genome‐wide postnatal changes in immunity following fetal inflammatory response

The fetal inflammatory response (FIR) increases the risk of perinatal brain injury, particularly in extremely low gestational age newborns (ELGANs, < 28 weeks of gestation). One of the mechanisms contributing to such a risk is a postnatal intermittent or sustained systemic inflammation (ISSI) following FIR. The link between prenatal and postnatal systemic inflammation is supported by the presence of well‐established inflammatory biomarkers in the umbilical cord and peripheral blood. However, the extent of molecular changes contributing to this association is unknown. Using RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry proteomics, we profiled the transcriptome and proteome of archived neonatal dried blood spot (DBS) specimens from 21 ELGANs. Comparing FIR‐affected and unaffected ELGANs, we identified 782 gene and 27 protein expression changes of 50% magnitude or more, and an experiment‐wide significance level below 5% false discovery rate. These expression changes confirm the robust postnatal activation of the innate immune system in FIR‐affected ELGANs and reveal for the first time an impairment of their adaptive immunity. In turn, the altered pathways provide clues about the molecular mechanisms triggering ISSI after FIR, and the onset of perinatal brain injury.

Type: Other
Archiver: European Genome-Phenome Archive (EGA)

3 Datasets 1 Publication

Click on a Dataset ID in the table below to learn more, and to find out who to contact about access to these data

Dataset ID	Description	Technology	Samples
EGAD00001004991	Paired-end RNA-seq FASTQ files from 21 newborn screening dried blood spot (DBS) samples. These DBS samples were obtained from extremely low gestional age newborns, where 10 of them were affected by a fetal inflammatory response (FIR) before birth, and 11 were unaffected. Total RNA was sequenced using an Illumina NextSeq-500 instrument. The sample preparation protocol included the depletion of rRNA and globin mRNA using the Globin Zero Gold rRNA Removal Kit from Illumina. Libraries were prepared using the NebNext Ultra TM II Directionl RNA LIbrary Prep Kit (New England Biolabs). Each sample was sequenced in 4 lanes, leading to 8 FASTQ files per sample and a total of 21x8=168 FASTQ files. There is an additional number of 8 FASTQ files corresponding to sample BS13, which was downsampled to 1/4 of its original depth (see BS13_README file for details).	NextSeq 500	21
EGAD00001005009	Paired-end RNA-seq BAM files from 21 newborn screening dried blood spot (DBS) samples. These DBS samples were obtained from extremely low gestional age newborns, where 10 of them were affected by a fetal inflammatory response (FIR) before birth, and 11 were unaffected. Total RNA was sequenced using an Illumina NextSeq-500 instrument. The sample preparation protocol included the depletion of rRNA and globin mRNA using the Globin Zero Gold rRNA Removal Kit from Illumina. Libraries were prepared using the NebNext Ultra TM II Directionl RNA LIbrary Prep Kit (New England Biolabs). There is one BAM file per sample and there is an additional BAM file, corresponding to sample BS13, which was downsampled to 1/4 of its original depth (see BS13_README file for details).		21
EGAD00010001707	Table of gene-level RNA counts from 21 newborn screening dried blood spot (DBS) samples. These DBS samples were obtained from extremely low gestional age newborns, where 10 of them were affected by a fetal inflammatory response (FIR) before birth, and 11 were unaffected. Total RNA was sequenced using an Illumina NextSeq-500 instrument. The sample preparation protocol included the depletion of rRNA and globin mRNA using the Globin Zero Gold rRNA Removal Kit from Illumina. Libraries were prepared using the NebNext Ultra TM II Directionl RNA LIbrary Prep Kit (New England Biolabs). Rows correspond to genes and columns to samples, where there is an additional column (BS13sub), corresponding to sample BS13, which was downsampled to 1/4 of its original depth.	Illumina NextSeq-500	21

Publications	Citations
Genome-wide postnatal changes in immunity following fetal inflammatory response. Costa D, Bonet N, Solé A, González de Aledo-Castillo JM, Sabidó E, Casals F, Rovira C, Nadal A, Marin JL, Cobo T, Castelo R. FEBS J 288: 2021 2311-2331	0