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. 2023 Nov 20;21(1):449.
doi: 10.1186/s12916-023-03173-2.

Placental inflammatory cytokines mRNA expression and preschool children's cognitive performance: a birth cohort study in China

Jixing Zhou  1   2   3   4 , Juan Tong  1   2   3   4 , Xue Ru  1   2   3   4 , Yuzhu Teng  1   2   3   4 , Menglong Geng  1   2   3   4 , Shuangqin Yan  1   5 , Fangbiao Tao  1   2   3   4 , Kun Huang  6   7   8   9   10
Affiliations

Placental inflammatory cytokines mRNA expression and preschool children's cognitive performance: a birth cohort study in China

Jixing Zhou et al. BMC Med. .

Abstract

Background: The immunologic milieu at the maternal-fetal interface has profound effects on propelling the development of the fetal brain. However, accessible epidemiological studies concerning the association between placental inflammatory cytokines and the intellectual development of offspring in humans are limited. Therefore, we explored the possible link between mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines in placenta and preschoolers' cognitive performance.

Methods: Study subjects were obtained from the Ma'anshan birth cohort (MABC). Placental samples were collected after delivery, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was utilized to measure the mRNA expression levels of IL-8, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, CRP, IFN-γ, IL-10, and IL-4. Children's intellectual development was assessed at preschool age by using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV). Multiple linear regression and restricted cubic spline models were used for statistical analysis.

Results: A total of 1665 pairs of mother and child were included in the analysis. After adjusting for confounders and after correction for multiple comparisons, we observed that mRNA expression of IL-8 (β = - 0.53; 95% CI, - 0.92 to - 0.15), IL-6 (β = - 0.58; 95% CI, - 0.97 to - 0.19), TNF-α (β = - 0.37; 95% CI, - 0.71 to - 0.02), and IFN-γ (β = - 0.31; 95% CI, - 0.61 to - 0.03) in the placenta was negatively associated with preschoolers' full scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ). Both higher IL-8 and IL-6 were associated with lower children's low fluid reasoning index (FRI), and higher IFN-γ was associated with lower children's working memory index (WMI). After further adjusting for confounders and children's age at cognitive testing, the integrated index of six pro-inflammatory cytokines (index 2) was found to be significantly and negatively correlated with both the FSIQ and each sub-dimension (verbal comprehension index (VCI), visual spatial index (VSI), FRI, WMI, processing speed index (PSI)). Sex-stratified analyses showed that the association of IL-8, IFN-γ, and index 2 with children's cognitive development was mainly concentrated in boys.

Conclusions: Evidence of an association between low cognitive performance and high expression of placental inflammatory cytokines (IL-8, IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) was found, highlighting the potential importance of intrauterine placental immune status in dissecting offspring cognitive development.

Keywords: Children; Cognition; Cohort study; Cytokines; Placenta.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of participants
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The associations between placental inflammatory cytokines mRNA expression (IL-8, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, CRP, IFN-γ, IL-10 and IL-4) and children’s cognitive performance (VCI, VSI, FRI, WMI, PSI and FSIQ) by linear regression model
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Restricted cubic spline analysis of the association between placental inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression (IL-8, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, CRP, IFN-γ, IL-10 and IL-4) and children’s FSIQ
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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