Assessing the fetal effects of maternal obesity via transcriptomic analysis of cord blood: A prospective case-control study

Abstract

Objective To analyse fetal gene expression at term using umbilical cord blood, in order to provide insights into the effects of maternal obesity on human development. Design Prospective case-control study. Setting Academic tertiary care centre. Population Eight obese (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2) and eight lean (body mass index <25 kg/m2) pregnant women undergoing prelabour caesarean delivery at term. Methods Women were matched for gestational age and fetal sex. Cord blood RNA was extracted and hybridised to gene expression arrays. Differentially regulated genes were identified using paired t-tests and the Benjamini-Hochberg correction. Functional analyses were performed using Ingenuity Pathwa..