EFFECT OF OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA DURING PREGNANCY ON FETAL DEVELOPMENT: GENE EXPRESSION PROFILE IN CORD BLOOD

OSA is common during pregnancy and is associated with adverse perinatal consequences, but it is unknown whether it can also modulate fetal developmental processes. We studied the impact of maternal OSA by analyzing gene expression in whole cord blood (WCB). <bold>Methods:</bold> We included 10 women in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy (5 OSA and 5 Non-OSA). WCB RNA expression was analyzed by microarrays. Differentially expressed genes (DEG) were identified by differential expression analysis. Functional enrichment was performed by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) in Gene Ontology. Confirmation of DEG was carried out by q-PCR in an additional sample (7 OSA and 13 Non-OSA). <bold>Results:</bold> We found 3238 genes significantly differentially expressed after normalizing the data, with 2690 genes overexpressed and 548 genes under expressed. The most significant biological processes after GSEA analysis were response to oxidative stress and hypoxia, insulin response and secretion, placental development, and endothelial cell migration. Confirmation by qPCR showed differentially expression of EGR1, PFN1 and PRKAR1A genes in OSA. Furthermore, the expression of PFN1, UBA52, EGR1, STX4, MYC, JUNB and MAPKAP1 WCB genes were significantly different when women had OSA during REM sleep time. All these genes are implicated in the response to oxidative stress and hypoxia, as well as in insulin response and secretion, and placental development. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> FWCB showed different gene expression profile depending on the presence of OSA and OSA during REM during pregnancy, which could potentially have a negative influence on several biological processes during fetal development.