B4282 - Maternal and foetal genetic determinants of circulating GDF15 and nausea and vomiting in pregnancy - 04/07/2023
B number:
B4282
Principal applicant name:
Stephen O'Rahilly | Wellcome MRC Institute of Metabolic Science (United Kingdom)
Co-applicants:
Dr Sam Lockhart, Dr Brian Lam, Professor Nicholas Timpson, Dr Susan M Ring, Professor Naveed Sattar
Title of project:
Maternal and foetal genetic determinants of circulating GDF15 and nausea and vomiting in pregnancy
Proposal summary:
We have shown that spelling mistakes in a woman's genome can make her more likely to develop severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (also known as 'morning sickness') likely by altering the sensitivity to a hormone called GDF15. This hormone circulates in the blood and is well known to act on the brain known to to induce nausea and vomiting. GDF15 is made by the placenta in large amounts, and increases markedly in pregnancy, however, we do not understand how changes in the unborn baby's genes affect how much GDF15 the placenta makes or how this might alter the risk of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.
Impact of research:
We expect our research will provide novel insight into the pathogenesis of NVP and expect our findings to be therapeutically tractable.
Date proposal received:
Wednesday, 8 March, 2023
Date proposal approved:
Monday, 13 March, 2023
Keywords:
Genetic epidemiology (including association studies and mendelian randomisation), Pregnancy - e.g. reproductive health, postnatal depression, birth outcomes, etc., ELISA, Biomarkers - e.g. cotinine, fatty acids, haemoglobin, etc., Genetic epidemiology, Genome wide association study, Hyperemesis Gravidarum