ABSTRACT
Objective : To characterize the metabolic variation in neonatal
hair samples associated with intrauterine growth discordance in
dichorionic-diamniotic (DCDA) twins and to evaluate the effects of
specific metabolic alterations on later neurobehavioural outcomes in
infancy.
Design: Cohort-based case-control study
Setting: Peking University Third Hospital
Population: DCDA twins with birth weight discordance(DCDA-D)
and birthweight concordance (DCDA-C) within a twin cohort recruited
between September 2017 and December 2018 in Beijing, China.
Methods: A specific hair metabolic profile of 14 pairs of
DCDA-D twins was revealed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry by
comparing that of 28 pairs of DCDA-C twins. Pearson’s correlation was
used to assess the relationship between the neonatal hair metabolome and
neurocognitive outcomes, assessed using the Ages and the Infant’s Stages
Questionnaires, third edition (ASQ-3) at 2 or 3 years of age.
Main outcome measure: neonatal hair metabolome and long-term
neurodevelopment.
Results: A total of seventeen hair metabolites were
significantly different within DCDA-D twin pairs compared to DCDA-C
twins. Particularly, reduced levels of cysteine, threonine, and leucine
were identified in both the larger and smaller DCDA-D twins compared
with DCDA-C twins. The deregulated metabolic pathways including
cysteine, methionine, aminoacyl-tRNA, nicotinate, and nicotinamide
metabolism biosynthesis pathways in DCDA-D groups were positively
correlated with infant neurocognitive development
at 2 or 3 years of age,
especially in problem-solving domains.
Conclusion: Neonatal hair metabolic variations in utero of
growth discordance in DCDA twins may be associated with poor
neurocognitive development. Metabolome profiles of hair may be novel
predictors of infant neurodevelopment longitudinally.
Keywords: Neonatal hair; dichorionic-diamniotic (DCDA); twins;
birth weight (BW) discordance; and neurobehavioral impairment.
Tweetable abstract: Neonatal hair metabolome predicts long-term
neurodevelopment of birthweight discordant twins.