Maternal weight, blood lipids, and the offspring weight trajectories during infancy and early childhood in twin pregnancies.

BACKGROUND: The intrauterine environment has a profound and long-lasting influence on the health of the offspring. However, its impact on the postnatal catch-up growth of twin children remains unclarified. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the maternal factors in pregnancy associated with twin offspring growth. METHODS: This study included 3142 live twin children born to 1571 mothers from the Beijing Birth Cohort Study conducted from 2016 to 2021 in Beijing, China. Original and corrected weight-for-age standard deviation scores of the twin offspring from birth to 36 months of age were calculated according to the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards. The corresponding weight trajectories were identified by the latent trajectory model. Maternal factors in pregnancy associated with the weight trajectories of the twin offspring were examined after adjustment for potential confounders. RESULTS: Five weight trajectories of the twin children were identified, with 4.9% (154/3142) exhibiting insufficient catch-up growth, 30.6% (961/3142), and 46.8% (1469/3142) showing adequate catch-up growth from different birth weights, and 15.0% (472/3142) and 2.7% (86/3142) showing various degrees of excessive catch-up growth. Maternal short stature [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.691, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.563-0.848, P = 0.0004] and lower total gestational weight gain (GWG) (adjusted OR = 0.774, 95% CI = 0.616-0.972, P = 0.03) were associated with insufficient catch-up growth of the offspring. Maternal stature (adjusted OR = 1.331, 95% CI = 1.168-1.518, P < 0.001), higher pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) (adjusted OR = 1.230, 95% CI = 1.090-1.387, P < 0.001), total GWG (adjusted OR = 1.207, 95% CI = 1.068-1.364, P = 0.002), GWG rate (adjusted OR = 1.165, 95% CI = 1.027-1.321, P = 0.02), total cholesterol (TC) (adjusted OR = 1.150, 95% CI = 1.018-1.300, P = 0.03) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) (adjusted OR = 1.177, 95% CI = 1.041-1.330) in early pregnancy were associated with excessive growth of the offspring. The pattern of weight trajectories was similar between monochorionic and dichorionic twins. Maternal height, pre-pregnancy BMI, GWG, TC and LDL-C in early pregnancy were positively associated with excess growth in dichorionic twins, yet a similar association was observed only between maternal height and postnatal growth in monochorionic twins. CONCLUSION: This study identified the effect of maternal stature, weight status, and blood lipid profiles during pregnancy on postnatal weight trajectories of the twin offspring, thereby providing a basis for twin pregnancy management to improve the long-term health of the offspring.

Patterns of gestational weight gain among women with obesity and its correlation with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Chinese women.

Gestational weight management in obese women is critical in clinical work. Adverse pregnancy outcomes are associated with improper gestational weight gain (GWG). However, the pattern of GWG (PGWG) and its correlation with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) in obesity are still unclear in China. This retrospective cohort study evaluates clinical data from 799 women through multivariate analyses and trajectory analyses. All the participants are stratified per first trimester weight gain category into three groups (Inadequate-1st, <0.5 kg; Adequate-1st, 0.5-2.0 kg; Excessive-1st, >2.0 kg) and PGWG refers to the weekly weight gain during each gestational period. GWG is positively associated with first trimester weight gain. 78.4% of the Excessive-1st participants have excessive total GWG, in contrast to Inadequate-1st (32.7%) and Adequate-1st (48.2%). After 20 weeks, the weekly weight gain rapidly accelerates, and 77.3% have a weekly weight gain exceeding the Institute of Medicine recommendations. Trajectory analysis of weekly weight gain based on HDP shows two separate weight gain curves after 20 weeks in women with and without a high risk of HDP. Especially in Excessive-1st participants, weekly weight gain after 20 weeks over 0.32 kg/w is positively related to the risk of HDP (<0.32 kg/w vs. 0.32-0.61 kg/w, adjusted odds ratios [aOR]: 2.999, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.054-8.537; <0.32 kg/w vs. >0.61 kg/w, aOR: 5.362, 95% CI: 1.719-16.729). In summary, the first trimester is critical for gestational weight management in obesity. Excessive weight gain during the first trimester and after 20 weeks predicts a high risk of HDP, which should be noted in clinical practice.

Dynamic changes and early predictive value of branched-chain amino acids in gestational diabetes mellitus during pregnancy.

Objective: Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are closely associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus, but their roles in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are still controversial. This study aims to explore the dynamic changes of BCAAs during pregnancy and identify potential early biomarkers for GDM. Methods: This study is a nested case-control study involved 49 women with GDM and 50 age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy pregnant women. The dynamic changes of valine (Val), isoleucine (Ile), and leucine (Leu) were detected in the first (8-12 weeks) and second trimesters (24-28 weeks) by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: Serum Val, Ile, and Leu were higher in GDM patients than in controls in the first trimester. Compared with the first trimester, the serum Val, Ile, and Leu in GDM patients were decreased in the second trimester. In addition, Val, Ile, and Leu in the first trimester were the risk factors for GDM, and Ile presented a high predictive value for GDM. Ile + age (≥ 35) + BMI (≥ 24) exhibited the highest predictive value for GDM (AUC = 0.902, sensitivity = 93.9%, specificity = 80%). Conclusion: Maternal serum Ile in the first trimester was a valuable biomarker for GDM. Ile combined with advanced maternal age and overweight may be used for the early prediction of GDM.

Correction: Yang et al. A Kinesin Vdkin2 Required for Vacuole Formation, Mycelium Growth, and Penetration Structure Formation of Verticillium dahliae. J. Fungi 2022, 8, 391.

In the original publication [...].

Identification of VdASP F2-interacting protein as a regulator of microsclerotial formation in Verticillium dahliae.

Verticillium dahliae, a notorious phytopathogenic fungus, causes vascular wilt diseases in many plant species. The melanized microsclerotia enable V. dahliae to survive for years in soil and are crucial for its disease cycle. In a previous study, we characterized the secretory protein VdASP F2 from V. dahliae and found that VdASP F2 deletion significantly affected the formation of microsclerotia under adverse environmental conditions. In this study, we clarified that VdASP F2 is localized to the cell wall. However, the underlying mechanism of VdASP F2 in microsclerotial formation remains unclear. Transmembrane ion channel protein VdTRP was identified as a candidate protein that interacts with VdASP F2 using pull-down assays followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis, and interaction of VdASP F2 and VdTRP was confirmed by bimolecular fluorescence complementary and coimmunoprecipitation assays. The deletion mutant was analysed to reveal that VdTRP is required for microsclerotial production, but it is not essential for stress resistance, carbon utilization and pathogenicity of V. dahliae. RNA-seq revealed some differentially expressed genes related to melanin synthesis and microsclerotial formation were significantly downregulated in the VdTRP deletion mutants. Taken together, these results indicate that VdASP F2 regulates the formation of melanized microsclerotia by interacting with VdTRP.

A Kinesin Vdkin2 Required for Vacuole Formation, Mycelium Growth, and Penetration Structure Formation of Verticillium dahliae.

The soil-borne vascular fungus Verticillium dahliae infects hundreds of dicotyledonous plants, causing severe wilt diseases. During the initial colonization, V. dahliae develops a penetration peg to enable infection of cotton roots. In some phytopathogenic fungi, vacuoles play a critical role in normal formation of the infection structure. Kinesin 2 protein is associated with vacuole formation in Ustilago maydis. To identify the function of vacuoles in the V. dahliae infection structure, we identified VdKin2, an ortholog of kinesin 2, in V. dahliae and investigated its function through gene knockout. VdKin2 mutants showed severe defects in virulence and were suppressed during initial infection and root colonization based on observation of green fluorescent protein-labeled V. dahliae. We also found that deletion of VdKin2 compromised penetration peg formation and the derived septin neck. Disruption strains were viable and showed normal microsclerotia formation, whereas mycelium growth and conidial production were reduced, with shorter and more branched hyphae. Furthermore, the VdKin2 mutant, unlike wild-type V. dahliae, lacked a large basal vacuole, accompanied by a failure to generate concentrated lipid droplets. Taken together, VdKin2 regulates vacuole formation by V. dahliae, which is required for conidiation, mycelium growth, and penetration structure formation during initial plant root infection.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Is Associated with Reduced Dynamics of Gut Microbiota during the First Half of Pregnancy.

Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have different gut microbiota in late pregnancy compared to women without GDM. It remains unclear whether alterations of gut microbiota can be identified prior to the diagnosis of GDM. This study characterized dynamic changes of gut microbiota from the first trimester (T1) to the second trimester (T2) and evaluated their relationship with later development of GDM. Compared with the control group (n = 103), the GDM group (n = 31) exhibited distinct dynamics of gut microbiota, evidenced by taxonomic, functional, and structural shifts from T1 to T2. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) revealed that there were 10 taxa in T1 and 7 in T2 that differed in relative abundance between the GDM and control groups, including a consistent decrease in the levels of Coprococcus and Streptococcus in the GDM group. While the normoglycemic women exhibited substantial variations of gut microbiota from T1 to T2, their GDM-developing counterparts exhibited clearly reduced inter-time point shifts, as corroborated by the results of Wilcoxon signed-rank test and balance tree analysis. Moreover, cooccurrence network analysis revealed that the interbacterial interactions in the GDM group were minimal compared with those in the control group. In conclusion, lower numbers of dynamic changes in gut microbiota in the first half of pregnancy are associated with the development of GDM.IMPORTANCE GDM is one of the most common metabolic disorders during pregnancy and is associated with adverse short-term and long-term maternal and fetal outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the connection between dynamic variations in gut microbiota and development of GDM. Whereas shifts in gut microbiota composition and function have been previously reported to be associated with GDM, very little is known regarding the early microbial changes that occur before the diagnosis of GDM. This study demonstrated that the dynamics in gut microbiota during the first half of pregnancy differed significantly between GDM and normoglycemic women. Our findings suggested that gut microbiota may potentially serve as an early biomarker for GDM.

Serotypes, antibiotic susceptibilities, and multi-locus sequence type profiles of Streptococcus agalactiae isolates circulating in Beijing, China.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the serotypes, antibiotic susceptibilities, and multi-locus sequence type (MLST) profiles of Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) in Beijing to provide references for the prevention and treatment of S. agalactiae infections. METHODS: All isolates were identified using the CAMP test and the latex-agglutination assay and serotyped using a Strep-B-Latex kit, after which they were assessed for antibiotic susceptibility, macrolide-resistance genes, and MLST profiles. RESULTS: In total, 56 S. agalactiae isolates were identified in 863 pregnant women (6.5%). Serotypes Ia, Ib, II, III, and V were identified, among which types III (32.1%), Ia (17.9%), Ib (16.1%), and V (14.3%) were the predominant serotypes. All isolates were susceptible to penicillin and ceftriaxone. The nonsusceptiblity rates measured for erythromycin, clarithromycin, azithromycin, telithromycin, clindamycin, tetracycline, and levofloxacin were 85.7%, 92.9%, 98.2%, 30.4%, 73.2%, 91%, and 39.3%, respectively. We identified 14 sequence types (STs) for the 56 isolates, among which ST19 (30.4%) was predominant. The rate of fluoroquinolone resistance was higher in serotype III than in the other serotypes. Among the 44 erythromycin-resistant isolates, 32 (72.7%) carried ermB. CONCLUSION: S. agalactiae isolates of the serotypes Ia, Ib, III, and V are common in Beijing. Among the S. agalactiae isolates, the macrolide and clindamycin resistance rates are extremely high. Most of the erythromycin-resistant isolates carry ermB.