Lactate dehydrogenase activity in human placenta following exposure to environmental pollutants

The impact of environmental pollution at the place of residence of pregnant women and of their smoking habits on the cellular energy metabolism of placental tissue was investigated. Samples of full-term placentas were randomly collected from two environmentally different regions of Slovakia (Bratislava, Stará Lubovna) and the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was measured. Our results showed enhanced LDH activity in the placenta that was dependent on both the type of environmental pollutants at the place of residence and the smoking habits during pregnancy. The enhanced LDH activity may reflect hypoxic conditions due to the accumulation of heavy metals and toxic compounds of tobacco smoke in the placental tissue. A high content of heavy metal particles, found in placental samples from Stará Lubovna in our previous studies, might contribute to the increased LDH activity in placentas from this region. We hypothesize that fine metal particles deposited in the placental tissue might be phagocytozed by the syncytiotrophoblast, thus contributing to the decreased oxygen level in placental tissue.