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PedBE age and age acceleration in umbilical vein endothelial cells: an examination of infant birth outcomes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 March 2025

Kristin M. Voegtline Open the ORCID record for Kristin M. Voegtline [Opens in a new window] ,
Radhika S. Raghunathan ,
David W. Sosnowski ,
Gang Peng ,
Cathrine Hoyo ,
Susan K. Murphy ,
Raquel G. Hernandez  and
Sara B. Johnson
Kristin M. Voegtline*
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
Radhika S. Raghunathan
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
David W. Sosnowski
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
Gang Peng
Affiliation:
Department of Medical & Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Cathrine Hoyo
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Susan K. Murphy
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
Raquel G. Hernandez
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Sara B. Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
*
Corresponding author: Kristin M. Voegtline; Email: kvoegtl1@jhu.edu
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Abstract

The current study examines the application of the Pediatric-Buccal-Epigenetic (PedBE) clock, designed for buccal epithelial cells, to endothelia. We evaluate the association of PedBE epigenetic age and age acceleration estimated from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with length of gestation and birthweight in a racially and ethnically diverse sample (analytic sample n = 333). PedBE age was positively associated with gestational age at birth (r = 0.22, p < .001) and infant birth weight (r = 0.20, p < .001). Multivariate models revealed infants with higher birth weight (adjusted for gestational age) had greater PedBE epigenetic age acceleration (b = 0.0002, se = 0.0007, p = 0.002), though this effect was small; findings were unchanged excluding preterm infants born before 37 weeks’ gestation. In conclusion, the PedBE clock may have application to endothelial cells and provide utility as an anchoring sampling point at birth to examine epigenetic aging in infancy.

Keywords

PedBE clockepigenetic ageepigenetic age accelerationumbilical tissueinfant birthoutcomes
Type
Brief Report
Information
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease , Volume 16 , 2025 , e7
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with The International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)

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