Environmental Air Pollutants Inhaled during Pregnancy Are Associated with Altered Cord Blood Immune Cell Profiles

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Malcolm R. Starkey¹  Elizabeth Percival²  Adam M. Collison²  Joerg Mattes²  Gabriela Martins Costa Gomes²  Vanessa E. Murphy²  Peter G. Gibson³  Philip M. Hansbro³  Wilfried Karmaus⁴ 

[1] Department of Immunology and Pathology, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia;Priority Research Centre GrowUpWell®, Hunter Medical Research Institute, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia;Priority Research Centre for Healthy Lungs, Hunter Medical Research Institute, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia;School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA;

关键词: air pollutants;    cord blood;    asthma;    prenatal risk factors;    particulate matter;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph18147431

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Air pollution exposure during pregnancy may be a risk factor for altered immune maturation in the offspring. We investigated the association between ambient air pollutants during pregnancy and cell populations in cord blood from babies born to mothers with asthma enrolled in the Breathing for Life Trial. For each patient (n = 91), daily mean ambient air pollutant levels were extracted during their entire pregnancy for sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter <10 μm (PM₁₀) or <2.5 μm (PM_2.5), humidity, and temperature. Ninety-one cord blood samples were collected, stained, and assessed using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Principal Component (PC) analyses of both air pollutants and cell types with linear regression were employed to define associations. Considering risk factors and correlations between PCs, only one PC from air pollutants and two from cell types were statistically significant. PCs from air pollutants were characterized by higher PM_2.5 and lower SO₂ levels. PCs from cell types were characterized by high numbers of CD8 T cells, low numbers of CD4 T cells, and by high numbers of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) and low numbers of myeloid DCs (mDCs). PM_2.5 levels during pregnancy were significantly associated with high numbers of pDCs (p = 0.006), and SO₂ with high numbers of CD8 T cells (p = 0.002) and low numbers of CD4 T cells (p = 0.011) and mDCs (p = 4.43 × 10⁻⁶) in cord blood. These data suggest that ambient SO₂ and PM_2.5 exposure are associated with shifts in cord blood cell types that are known to play significant roles in inflammatory respiratory disease in childhood.

【 授权许可】

Unknown