Innovative approach for the qualitative-quantitative assessment of neurodevelopment biomarkers research in placenta tissue using immunohistochemistry digital image analysis.

We aimed to develop and validate a standardized, qualitative-quantitative protocol for digital IHC analysis to assess neurodevelopmental biomarkers in placental tissue. Placental tissues from 60 births were obtained from the Western Region Birth Cohort (ROC), and IHC staining was performed using Novolink Polymer System. The primary antibody against 11βHSD2 protein was used for protocol development, and ANXA1 was employed for validation.

Identifying biomarkers and trajectories of executive functions and language development in the first 3 years of life: Design, methods, and findings of the Germina cohort study.

This paper reports the methods and preliminary findings of Germina, an ongoing cohort study to identify biomarkers and trajectories of executive functions and language development in the first 3 years of life. 557 mother-infant dyads (mean age of mothers 33.7 years, 65.

A Preliminary Investigation of Associations Between Traumatic Events Experienced During Pregnancy and Salivary Diurnal Cortisol Levels of Brazilian Adolescent Mothers and Infants.

Introduction: Interpersonal violence against women is a major global health problem that may have intergenerational effects. This study investigated associations between maternal experiences of interpersonal violence and other traumatic events and maternal and infant salivary diurnal cortisol in a cohort of adolescent mothers in São Paulo, Brazil.

Method: Adolescent mothers (14-19 years) participating in a home-visiting intervention were interviewed retrospectively about lifetime and pregnancy violence and trauma exposure.

Gestational age acceleration is associated with epigenetic biomarkers of prenatal physiologic stress exposure.

Background: Physiological maternal stress response, such as imbalance in the glucocorticoid pathway and immune system seems to be mediated by DNA methylation (DNAm) and might translate intrauterine stress exposures into phenotypic changes in a sex-specific manner. DNAm in specific sites can also predict newborn gestational age and gestational age acceleration (GAA). GAA occurs when the predicted biological age is higher than the chronological age.

DNA methylation mediates a randomized controlled trial home-visiting intervention during pregnancy and the Bayley infant's cognitive scores at 12 months of age.

The crosstalk between maternal stress exposure and fetal development may be mediated by epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation (DNAm). To address this matter, we collect 32 cord blood samples from low-income Brazilian pregnant adolescents participants of a pilot randomized clinical intervention study (ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT02807818).

Gestational diabetes mellitus, pre-pregnancy body mass index, and gestational weight gain as risk factors for increased fat mass in Brazilian newborns.

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common complication of pregnancy. It may predispose offspring to increased fat mass (FM) and the development of obesity, however few data from Latin America exist.

Objective: To investigate the influence of GDM on newborn FM in mother-newborn pairs recruited from a public maternity care center in São Paulo, Brazil.

Cord blood concentrations of leptin, zinc-α2-glycoprotein, and adiponectin, and adiposity gain during the first 3 mo of life.

Objectives: Adipose tissue development starts in intrauterine life and cytokines are involved in this process. Therefore, understanding the role of cytokines in the fat mass gain of infants is crucial to prevent obesity later in life. Furthermore, recent evidence indicates a sex-specific link between cytokines and adipose tissue development.

Sex differences in DNA methylation of the cord blood are related to sex-bias psychiatric diseases.

Sex differences in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders are well documented, with exposure to stress during gestation differentially impacting females and males. We explored sex-specific DNA methylation in the cord blood of 39 females and 32 males born at term and with appropriate weight at birth regarding their potential connection to psychiatric outcomes. Mothers were interviewed to gather information about environmental factors (gestational exposure) that could interfere with the methylation profiles in the newborns.

The Relationship between Maternal Plasma Leptin and Adiponectin Concentrations and Newborn Adiposity.

Increased maternal blood concentrations of leptin and decreased adiponectin levels, which are common disturbances in obesity, may be involved in offspring adiposity by programming fetal adipose tissue development. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between maternal leptin and adiponectin concentrations and newborn adiposity. This was a cross-sectional study involving 210 healthy mother-newborn pairs from a public maternity hospital in São Paulo, Brazil.