ArticleBiology of sex differences2018
Sex differences in the late first trimester human placenta transcriptome.
Article in Biology of sex differences, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 91 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
91 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 173 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of fetal sex on neonatal outcomes in women with gestational diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Pooled it
- Revealing the molecular landscape of human placenta: a systematic review and meta-analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing studies.Human reproduction update · 2024Pooled it
- Phthalate Exposures and Placental Health in Animal Models and Humans: A Systematic Review.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2022Pooled it
- Current approaches and developments in transcript profiling of the human placenta.Human reproduction update · 2020Pooled it
- Fetal sex and maternal pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Biology of sex differences · 2020Pooled it
- Sex-linked placental DNA methylation associated with early-onset preeclampsia.Research square · 2026Article
- Sexual Dimorphism in Placental mTORC1 Signaling, Amino Acid Transport, and Mitochondrial Respiration at Term.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Sex-specific outcomes following chorioamnionitis.Pediatric research · 2026Review
- Article
- Placental and juvenile immune responses to maternal immune activation are differentially regulated by sex chromosomes and gonads across gestation.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- Placental dysfunction reflects endocrine impairment and trophoblast alterations in polycystic ovarian syndrome.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Altered Lipid Profile and Oxidative Stress During Pregnancy: Impact on the Fetus and Risk of Metabolic Disorders in Adulthood.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Sex-influenced DNA methylation differs by placental cell type.Biology of sex differences · 2026Article
- Conserved gene expression patterns in the placenta underlie pregnancy complications associated with hypoxia in mice and humans.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2026Article
- Novel role for PI3Kβ in placental function through regulation of system A amino acid transporter expression, associated with embryonic lethality.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2025Article
- Self-Normalizing Multi-Omics Neural Network for Pan-Cancer Prognostication.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Review
- Sex differences in placental structure and gene expression in ICR mice during embryonic development.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Placental Steroid Hypothesis of Human Brain Evolution.Evolutionary anthropology · 2025Review
- Exploratory analysis of differences at the transcriptional interface between the maternal and fetal compartments of the sheep placenta and potential influence of fetal sex.Molecular and cellular endocrinology · 2025Article
31 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDevelopment of the placenta during the late first trimester is critical to ensure normal growth and development of the fetus. Developmental differences in this window such as sex-specific variation are implicated in later placental disease states, yet gene expression at this time is poorly understood.
methodsRNA-sequencing was performed to characterize the transcriptome of 39 first trimester human placentas using chorionic villi following genetic testing (17 females, 22 males). Gene enrichment analysis was performed to find enriched canonical pathways and gene ontologies in the first trimester. DESeq2 was used to find sexually dimorphic gene expression. Patient demographics were analyzed for sex differences in fetal weight at time of chorionic villus sampling and birth.
resultsRNA-sequencing analyses detected 14,250 expressed genes, with chromosome 19 contributing the greatest proportion (973/2852, 34.1% of chromosome 19 genes) and Y chromosome contributing the least (16/568, 2.8%). Several placenta-enriched genes as well as histone-coding genes were identified to be unique to the first trimester and common to both sexes. Further, we identified 58 genes with significantly different expression between males and females: 25 X-linked, 15 Y-linked, and 18 autosomal genes. Genes that escape X inactivation were highly represented (59.1%) among X-linked genes upregulated in females. Many genes differentially expressed by sex consisted of X/Y gene pairs, suggesting that dosage compensation plays a role in sex differences. These X/Y pairs had roles in parallel, ancient canonical pathways important for eukaryotic cell growth and survival: chromatin modification, transcription, splicing, and translation.
conclusionsThis study is the first characterization of the late first trimester placenta transcriptome, highlighting similarities and differences among the sexes in ongoing human pregnancies resulting in live births. Sexual dimorphism may contribute to pregnancy outcomes, including fetal growth and birth weight, which was seen in our cohort, with males significantly heavier than females at birth. This transcriptome provides a basis for development of early diagnostic tests of placental function that can indicate overall pregnancy heath, fetal-maternal health, and long-term adult health.
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