Maternal engineered nanomaterial inhalation during gestation alters the fetal transcriptome

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health Sciences
• Toxicology
• Developmental Biology

Background:

• Engineered nanomaterials (ENM) are widely used, with known cardiovascular effects in adults.
• Fetal impacts from maternal ENM exposure during gestation remain largely unknown.
• Previous studies indicate cardiovascular and metabolic changes in offspring following gestational ENM inhalation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate genetic alterations in Sprague-Dawley rat fetuses resulting from maternal exposure to nano-titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2) during gestation.
• To identify epigenetic and transcriptomic changes in fetal hearts after maternal ENM inhalation.

Main Methods:

• Pregnant rats inhaled nano-TiO2 aerosols.
• Fetal hearts were collected on gestational day 20.
• DNA and RNA were extracted for chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) and RNA sequencing.
• Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was used to analyze pathway modifications.

Main Results:

• Significant epigenetic and transcriptomic alterations were observed in the cardiac tissue of progeny exposed to nano-TiO2 in utero.
• Key biological system changes involved immune adaptation and organismal growth.
• Physiological changes were also linked to other organs, including the liver and kidneys.

Conclusions:

• Maternal inhalation of ENM, specifically nano-TiO2, leads to significant epigenetic and transcriptomic changes in fetal hearts.
• This study provides the first evidence that maternal ENM exposure impacts the fetal epigenome.
• These findings highlight potential developmental risks associated with environmental nanomaterial exposure.