High correlations in gene expression between paired umbilical cord blood and neonatal blood of healthy newborns on Guthrie cards.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the correlation in genes expressed in paired umbilical cord blood (UCB) and newborn blood (NB). METHOD: Total mRNA and mRNA of three gene sets (inflammatory, hypoxia, and thyroidal response) was assessed using microarray in UCB and NB spotted on Guthrie cards from 7 mother/infant pairs. RESULTS: The average gene expression correlation between paired UCB and NB samples was 0.941 when all expressed genes were considered, and 0.949 for three selected gene sets. CONCLUSION: The high correlation of UCB and NB gene expression suggest that either source may be useful for examining gene expression in the perinatal period.