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Normal early pregnancy: a transient state of epigenetic change favoring hypomethylation

Wendy M White1, Brian C Brost, Zhifu Sun

  • 1Department of OB/GYN, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA. white.wendy@mayo.edu

Epigenetics
|June 1, 2012
PubMed

The objective of this study was to analyze genome-wide differential methylation patterns in maternal leukocyte DNA in early pregnant and non-pregnant states. This is an age and body mass index matched case-control study comparing the methylation patterns of 27,578 cytosine-guanine (CpG) sites in 14,495 genes in maternal leukocyte DNA in early pregnancy (n = 14), in the same women postpartum (n = 14), and in nulligravid women (n = 14) on a BeadChip platform. Transient widespread hypomethylation was found in early pregnancy as compared with the non-pregnant states. Methylation of nine genes was significantly different in early pregnancy compared with both postpartum and nulligravid states (< 10% False Discovery Rate). Early pregnancy may be characterized by widespread hypomethylation compared with non-pregnant states; there is no apparent permanent methylation imprint after a normal term gestation. Nine potential candidate genes were identified as differentially methylated in early pregnancy and may play a role in the maternal adaptation to pregnancy.

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