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Updated: Apr 17, 2026
Long-term Behavioral and Reproductive Consequences of Embryonic Exposure to Low-dose Toxicants
Published on: March 6, 2018
Polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated biphenyl ethers in adipose tissue and matched serum from an E-waste
Quan-Xia Lv1, Wenyue Wang2, Xing-Hong Li1
1State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center of Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 2871, 18 Shuangqing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100085, China.
Abstract:
To Date, the knowledge on relationship between PCBs/PBDEs exposure and thyroid hormones (THs) levels during pregnancy still needs to be extended. Meanwhile, studies on congener-specific adipose-serum ratios for PCBs/PBDEs were limited. This study reports the levels of PCBs/PBDEs in serum-adipose tissue samples (n = 64) from expectant women living surrounding e-waste recycling sites in Wenling, China. Their concentrations varied from several to hundreds of ng g(-1) lipid. Maternal exposure to PCBs was associated with lower TSH during pregnancy, suggesting possible implication for maternal health and fetal development. The compound levels between the adipose tissue and matched serum samples were highly correlated (p < 0.001), generating a predicted adipose-serum partitioning relationship for individual PCB congener and PBDE congener. Molecular characteristics, such as Kow value, molecular weight and molecular volume, may play a key role in the variable partitioning of some compounds between serum and adipose tissue.
