Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 29, 2026

A Murine Model of Fetal Exposure to Maternal Inflammation to Study the Effects of Acute Chorioamnionitis on Newborn Intestinal Development
Published on: June 24, 2020
Differential DNA methylation in newborns with maternal exposure to heavy metals from an e-waste recycling area
Zhijun Zeng1, Xia Huo2, Yu Zhang1
1Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Developmental Toxicology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong, China; Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
This study explored the effects of maternal exposure to e-waste environmental heavy metals on neonatal DNA methylation patterns. Neonatal umbilical cord blood (UCB) samples were collected from participants that resided in an e-waste recycling area, Guiyu and a nearby non-e-waste area, Haojiang in China. The concentrations of UCB lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn) and chromium (Cr) were measured by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Epigenome-wide DNA methylation at 473, 844 CpG sites (CpGs) were assessed by Illumina 450 K BeadChip. The differential methylation of CpG sites from the microarray were further validated by bisulfite pyrosequencing. Bioinformatics analysis showed that 125 CpGs mapped to 79 genes were differential methylation in the e-waste exposed group with higher concentrations of heavy metals in neonatal UCB. These genes mainly involve in multiple biological processes including calcium ion binding, cell adhesion, embryonic morphogenesis, as well as in signaling pathways related to NFkB activation, adherens junction, TGF beta and apoptosis. Among them, BAI1 and CTNNA2 (involving in neuron differentiation and development) were further verified to be hyper- and hypo-methylated, respectively, which were associated with maternal Pb exposure. These results suggest that maternal exposure to e-waste environmental heavy metals (particularly lead) during pregnancy are associated with peripheral blood differential DNA methylation in newborns, specifically the genes involving in brain neuron development.
Related Concept Videos
Alkali Metals
Table 1: Properties of the alkali metals
Bonding in Metals
Metallic Solids
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability....
Recycling Endosomes and Transcytosis
The recycling endosome is not a single organelle but an extensively tubulated network of recycling pathways. It functions in storing molecules or transporting them across...
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Properties of Transition Metals

