Interrogating placental function in pregnancies affected by prenatal depression

Sumption, Lorna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2259-9128 2020. Interrogating placental function in pregnancies affected by prenatal depression. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

Preview	PDF (PhD Thesis) - Accepted Post-Print Version Download (4MB) | Preview
	PDF (Cardiff University Electronic Publication Form) - Supplemental Material Restricted to Repository staff only Download (372kB)

Abstract

Prenatal depression is a relatively neglected yet common disorder associated with adverse outcomes for exposed infants. It is therefore imperative to identify contributing mechanisms. One key change that occurs during pregnancy is an exposure to extraordinary levels of hormones. Genetically manipulating imprinted gene expression in mice results in defects in placental endocrine lineages and changes in maternal behaviour. One human study reported lower than normal placental expression of the imprinted gene PEG3 and hormone hPL in women with prenatal depression. Together, these data suggest that placental endocrine insufficiency may contribute to maternal mental health disorders. The Grown in Wales study is an elective caesarean cohort (N= 355) with self-reported mental health scores and biological samples including placenta collected at term. Three additional postnatal questionnaires were completed and a postpartum infant assessment was performed at 12 months. Depression scores were analysed with respect to lifestyle, biological measures and both maternally-reported and independent observations of infant development. Analysis of depression and anxiety symptom trajectories identified persistent anxiety in this population. In pregnancies with boys, transcriptional changes were identified in the placenta through RNA sequencing in relation to prenatal depression. Through qPCR, PEG3 expression was found to be significantly lower in male placentas in relation to prenatal depression, with no disruption to other imprinted genes. In contrast, in pregnancies with girls, serum hPL was significantly associated with postnatal depression. Finally, maternally-reported temperament of girls was associated with prenatal depression, whereas independent observations of boys were associated with depression symptoms. In summary, while the thesis did not identify a simple relationship between placental endocrine dysfunction and prenatal depression mediated by PEG3, it identified a sexual dimorphism in the placental transcriptomes of those with prenatal depression and in the outcomes of infants exposed in utero, highlighting the importance of considering fetal sex in prenatal depression.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Biosciences
Subjects:	Q Science > Q Science (General)
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	29 January 2021
Last Modified:	05 Nov 2022 03:53
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/138074

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item