ArticleMitochondrion2025
Mitochondrial health, prenatal distress, and gestational age: investigation of cf-mtDNA and GDF15 in two pregnancy studies from the USA and Turkey.
Article in Mitochondrion, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Sex Differences in Mitochondrial Function: Endocrine Regulation, Immunometabolic Signaling, and Implications for Health and Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Molecular Links Between Metabolism and Mental Health: Integrative Pathways from GDF15-Mediated Stress Signaling to Brain Energy Homeostasis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
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Abstract
backgroundPregnancy outcomes are influenced by maternal distress but the pathways underlying these effects are still unknown. Mitochondria, crucial for energy production and stress adaptation, may link psychosocial stress to its biological effects, especially during pregnancy when energy demands significantly increase. This study explores two mitochondrial markers-circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA (cf-mtDNA) and Growth Differentiation Factor-15 (GDF15)-as potential mitochondrial health indicators linking maternal distress to pregnancy outcomes in two longitudinal studies from the USA and Turkey.
methodsWe analyzed biological, demographic, and psychological data from women in two pregnancy studies: EPI (N = 187, USA) and BABIP (N = 198, Turkey). Data were collected at multiple timepoints during the perinatal period, including late 2nd and 3rd trimester, with EPI also including additional data at early 2nd trimester and 4-14 months postpartum. Prenatal maternal psychological distress was measured as perceived stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Plasma cf-mtDNA and GDF15 levels were assessed using qPCR and ELISA, respectively. Statistical analyses included Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, Spearman correlations, and Mann-Whitney tests.
resultsPlasma cf-mtDNA levels did not significantly vary across pregnancy, while plasma GDF15 levels increased from early to late pregnancy and decreased postpartum. Late 2nd trimester plasma GDF15 was negatively correlated with pre-pregnancy BMI (p = 0.035) and gestational age (p = 0.0048) at birth. Early 2nd trimester maternal distress was associated with lower cf-mtDNA (all p-values < 0.05) and a trend for lower GDF15. Higher pre-pregnancy BMI and late-pregnancy maternal distress were linked to smaller postpartum GDF15 declines in EPI (all p-values < 0.05).
conclusionsThis study identified distinct patterns of plasma cf-mtDNA and GDF15 levels during the perinatal period across studies from two countries, linking these mitochondrial markers to maternal distress and pregnancy outcomes.
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