Premature birth, that is before 37 consecutive weeks’ of pregnancy, is common. Between 5% and 10% of all children in the world are born prematurely. Most children will develop and grow normally, but premature birth is also linked to respiratory and lung disease, eye problems and neurodevelopmental disorders. This is especially true for children who are born very or extremely prematurely. During the fetal period, epigenetic processes, i.e., chemical modification of the DNA, are important for controlling development and growth. One such epigenetic factor is DNA methylation, which in turn affects the degree of gene activation and how much of a particular protein is formed.

 

 

”Our new findings indicate that these DNA changes may influence the development of fetal organs,” says Simon Kebede Merid, first author of the study and PhD student at Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset. The majority of observed DNA methylations at birth tended not to persist into childhood, but in 17% the levels were completely stable from birth to adolescence. The levels that you are born with in certain genes thus track with age.

 

”Now we need to investigate whether the DNA changes are linked to the health problems of those born prematurely,” says Professor Erik Melén, at the Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset.