Maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy (MPSP) is a known contributor to maladaptive neurobehavioral development of the offspring; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms linking MPSP with childhood outcome remain largely unknown. Transcriptome-wide gene expression data were generated using RNA-seq from placenta samples collected in a multi-ethnic urban birth cohort in New York City (n = 129). Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to characterize placental co-expression modules, which were then evaluated for their associations with MPSP and infant temperament. WGCNA revealed 16 gene coexpression modules. One module, enriched for regulation of chromosome organization/gene expression, was positively associated with MPSP and negatively associated with Regulatory Capacity (REG), a component of infant temperament. Two other modules, enriched for cotranslational protein targeting and cell cycle regulation, respectively, displayed negative associations with MPSP and positive associations with REG. A module enriched with oxidative phosphorylation/mitochondrial translation was positively associated with REG. These findings support the notion that the placenta provides a functional in utero link between MPSP and infant temperament, possibly through transcriptional regulation of placental gene expression.

中文翻译：

---

胎盘基因网络模块与孕期母体压力和婴儿气质相关

怀孕期间的母亲心理社会压力 (MPSP) 是导致后代神经行为发育不良的一个已知因素。然而，将 MPSP 与儿童结局联系起来的潜在分子机制仍然很大程度上未知。使用 RNA-seq 从纽约市多种族城市出生队列中收集的胎盘样本生成全转录组基因表达数据（n = 129)。加权基因共表达网络分析 (WGCNA) 用于表征胎盘共表达模块，然后评估它们与 MPSP 和婴儿气质的关联。WGCNA 揭示了 16 个基因共表达模块。一个模块，丰富了染色体组织/基因表达的调节，与 MPSP 呈正相关，与婴儿气质的一个组成部分调节能力 (REG) 呈负相关。另外两个模块，分别富含共翻译蛋白靶向和细胞周期调节，与 MPSP 呈负相关，与 REG 呈正相关。富含氧化磷酸化/线粒体翻译的模块与 REG 呈正相关。