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Updated: Mar 13, 2026
Isolation of Precursor B-cell Subsets from Umbilical Cord Blood
Published on: April 16, 2013
Umbilical cord blood PBDEs concentrations are associated with placental DNA methylation
Yan Zhao1, Pengcheng Liu2, Junyong Wang3
1Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Background:
In utero polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) exposure has been associated with adverse fetal growth. Alterations in placental DNA methylation might mediate those adverse effects.
Objectives:
To examine the associations between in utero PBDEs exposure and DNA methylation in human placenta.
Methods:
Eighty apparently healthy mother-newborn pairs delivering at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College were enrolled in this study. Placental DNA methylation of LINE1, NR3C1 and IGF2 was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction-pyrosequencing. In utero PBDEs exposure was assessed by measuring umbilical cord blood PBDEs concentrations.
Results:
For LINE-1, higher levels of BDE-66 exposure were associated with decreased DNA methylation (β=-0.9, 95% CI, -1.8 to -0.1); For NR3C1, BDE-153 concentrations was significantly inversely associated with DNA methylation (β=-2.0, 95% CI, -3.7 to -0.2); For IGF2, elevated concentrations of both BDE-153 (β=-1.7; 95% CI, -3.0 to -0.4) and BDE-209 (β=-1.0; 95% CI, -1. 9 to -0.1) were significantly associated with decreased DNA methylation.
Conclusions:
We found that placental DNA methylation is associated with in utero PBDEs exposure. Changes in placental DNA methylation might be part of the underlying biological pathway between in utero PBDEs exposure and adverse fetal growth.
