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A Pilot Multiplex Salivary Transcriptomic Analysis to Understand the Sex-specific Effects of Maternal Opioid Use in

Tomoko Kaneko-Tarui1, Francesca Carasi-Schwartz1, Kiran Singh1

  • 1Tufts Medical Center.

Research Square
|October 3, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Maternal opioid use impacts neonates differently based on sex. Opioid exposure upregulated reward and inflammation pathways in males, while downregulating them in females, affecting health outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal development
  • Molecular biology
  • Perinatal health

Background:

  • Opioid use disorder (OUD) exhibits sex-specific effects, but neonatal molecular mechanisms remain understudied.
  • Previous research indicates differential opioid effects on neonatal reward and inflammatory pathways, potentially impacting growth and cardiometabolic health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the sex-specific molecular impacts of maternal opioid use during pregnancy on offspring.
  • To examine effects on reward, energy homeostasis, inflammation, oxidative stress, and neuropathology pathways.

Main Methods:

  • Observational pilot study involving nine opioid-exposed and nine non-exposed neonates.
  • Multiplex, high-throughput analysis of 72 select genes in neonatal saliva using NanoString's nCounter® system.
  • Optimization of experimental conditions for low RNA abundance in neonatal saliva.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated sex-specific molecular effects of maternal opioid use.
  • Upregulated pathways (reward, inflammation, oxidative stress, feeding, energy homeostasis) observed in males.
  • Downregulated pathways (inflammation, cardiovascular function) observed in females.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal opioid use has sex-specific molecular consequences in neonates.
  • Neonatal saliva multiplexing via high-throughput platforms is feasible.
  • Further research with larger samples is needed to validate findings and clarify long-term health impacts.

Keywords:
maternalmultiplex transcriptomicsoffspringopioid exposuresalivasex differences

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