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Methodology for Biological Sample Collection, Processing, and Storage in the Newcastle 1000 Pregnancy Cohort:
Joshua J Fisher1, Tegan Grace1, Nathan A Castles1
1School of Medicine and Public Health, College and Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia.
Insights
The Newcastle 1000 Study (NEW1000) is creating a comprehensive biobank of biological samples from pregnant women and their partners. This resource will support research into the developmental origins of noncommunicable diseases across generations.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)
- Population-based pregnancy cohort studies
- Multigenerational health research
Background:
- Adverse events in the first 1000 days impact life course health.
- Mechanisms linking early life exposures to later health outcomes require further elucidation.
- The Newcastle 1000 Study (NEW1000) addresses this knowledge gap.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a comprehensive, prospective pregnancy cohort study (NEW1000).
- To investigate the developmental origins of noncommunicable diseases.
- To provide longitudinal, multisystem phenotyping with robust clinical data and biological samples.
Main Methods:
- Detailed description of sample collection, storage, and utility for the NEW1000 biobank.
- Focus on integrating samples into large-scale 'omics' platforms (genome, microbiome, epigenome, etc.).
- Collection of maternal, paternal, and fetal blood, microbiome, urine, saliva, hair, nails, placenta, colostrum, and breastmilk.
Main Results:
- Recruitment commenced March 2021; as of July 2024, 1040 women and 684 partners enrolled, 922 infants born.
- The NEW1000 biobank houses extensive sample collections, including plasma, buffy coat, serum, urine, microbiome swabs, saliva, breastmilk, placenta, hair, and nail samples.
- Detailed inventory of over 24,000 plasma aliquots and extensive microbiome and urine samples.
Conclusions:
- NEW1000 is generating a deeply phenotyped, multigenerational cohort.
- The comprehensive biobank supports diverse analyses across multiple 'omics' platforms.
- This resource is crucial for advancing understanding of developmental origins of noncommunicable diseases.
Background:
Research in the developmental origins of health and disease provides compelling evidence that adverse events during the first 1000 days of life from conception can impact life course health. Despite many decades of research, we still lack a complete understanding of the mechanisms underlying some of these associations. The Newcastle 1000 Study (NEW1000) is a comprehensive, prospective population-based pregnancy cohort study based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, that will recruit pregnant women and their partners at 11-14 weeks' gestation, with assessments at 20, 28, and 36 weeks; birth; 6 weeks; and 6 months, in order to provide detailed data about the first 1000 days of life to investigate the developmental origins of noncommunicable diseases.
Objective:
The study aims to provide a longitudinal multisystem approach to phenotyping, supported by robust clinical data and collection of biological samples in NEW1000.
Methods:
This manuscript describes in detail the large variety of samples collected in the study and the method of collection, storage, and utility of the samples in the biobank, with a particular focus on incorporation of the samples into emerging and novel large-scale "-omics" platforms, including the genome, microbiome, epigenome, transcriptome, fragmentome, metabolome, proteome, exposome, and cell-free DNA and RNA. Specifically, this manuscript details the methods used to collect, process, and store biological samples, including maternal, paternal, and fetal blood, microbiome (stool, skin, vaginal, oral), urine, saliva, hair, toenail, placenta, colostrum, and breastmilk.
Results:
Recruitment for the study began in March 2021. As of July 2024, 1040 women and 684 partners were enrolled, with 922 infants born. The NEW1000 biobank contains 24,357 plasma aliquots from ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) tubes, 5284 buffy coat aliquots, 4000 plasma aliquots from lithium heparin tubes, 15,884 blood serum aliquots, 2977 PAX RNA tubes, 26,595 urine sample aliquots, 2280 fecal swabs, 17,687 microbiome swabs, 2356 saliva sample aliquots, 1195 breastmilk sample aliquots, 4007 placental tissue aliquots, 2680 hair samples, and 2193 nail samples.
Conclusions:
NEW1000 will generate a multigenerational, deeply phenotyped cohort with a comprehensive biobank of samples relevant to a large variety of analyses, including multiple -omics platforms.
International Registered Report Identifier (Irrid):
DERR1-10.2196/63562.
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