Epigenomic signatures of accelerated epigenetic aging are associated with congenital heart disease in newborns.

BACKGROUND

Congenital heart disease (CHD) lesions are the most common birth defects and despite advances in care, are associated with short- and long-term co-morbidities. The exact mechanisms that may influence outcomes in survivors with CHD remain unclear and are likely multi-factorial; exploring the epigenome in these cases may provide novel insights into predictive biomarkers contributing to outcomes. The present study characterizes the impact of CHD on the newborn epigenome through assessments of epigenetic age.

METHODS

This is a prospective, single-site case-control pilot study conducted at Children's National Hospital with subjects enrolled from the Washington DC Metropolitan area. Genomic samples were collected between 2018 and 2024 and analyzed using the Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChip array platform. PedBE was used to assess infant biological age acceleration.

RESULTS

Using a methylation array approach, we analyzed the epigenetic age of 33 newborns with complex CHD requiring neonatal cardiac surgery and 26 healthy controls. There was a significant accelerated epigenetic age in newborns with CHD (+ 72.9 days) compared to newborns from uncomplicated pregnancies (+ 13.9 days, p < 0.001, unadjusted). Further subgroup analysis within the CHD cohort revealed that both single- (+ 56.6 days) and two-ventricle CHD (+ 64.8 days) displayed significant accelerated epigenetic age, with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) cases having the greatest accelerated age (107.2 days, p = 0.0001). Stepwise analysis of clinical measures in the CHD group revealed significant age acceleration was associated with low blood oxygen saturation.

CONCLUSIONS

This pilot study reveals accelerated epigenetic aging in newborns with critical CHD compared to healthy controls. Though the mechanisms behind these findings are not well-defined, the association between postnatal measures of oxygen saturation and epigenetic age suggests hypoxia may play a significant role and should be explored in future studies.