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Updated: May 9, 2026

Sample Preparation to Bioinformatics Analysis of DNA Methylation: Association Strategy for Obesity and Related Trait Studies
Published on: May 6, 2022
Tissue-specific Leptin promoter DNA methylation is associated with maternal and infant perinatal factors
Corina Lesseur1, David A Armstrong, Alison G Paquette
1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, 7650 Remsen, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
Abstract:
Leptin a regulator of body weight is involved in reproductive and developmental functions. Leptin promoter DNA methylation (LEP) regulates gene expression in a tissue-specific manner and has been linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes. In non-pathologic human pregnancies, we assessed LEP methylation, genotyped the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2167270 in placental (n=81), maternal and cord blood samples (n=60), and examined the association between methylation, genotype, and perinatal factors. Maternal blood LEP methylation was lower in pre-pregnancy obese women (P=0.01). Cord blood LEP methylation was higher in small for gestational age (SGA) (P=4.6×10(-3)) and A/A genotype (P=1.6×10(-4)), lower (-1.47, P=0.03) in infants born to pre-pregnancy obese mothers and correlated (P=0.01) with maternal blood LEP. Gender was associated with placental LEP methylation (P=0.05). These results suggest that LEP epigenetic control may be influenced by perinatal factors including: maternal obesity, infant growth, genotype and gender in a tissue-specific manner and may have multigenerational implications.
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