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Prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons metabolites, cord blood telomere length, and neonatal neurobehavioral
Jisheng Nie1, Jinyu Li2, Lin Cheng2
1Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical University, Xinjiannan Road 56, Taiyuan, 030001, China; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722W. 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
Insights
Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is linked to poorer infant neurobehavioral development and shorter telomere length (TL). Shorter TL partially explains PAH
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Developmental Toxicology
- Epigenetics
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) poses risks to neurodevelopment.
- Telomere length (TL) is a critical biomarker for cellular aging and health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between prenatal PAH metabolites and neonatal neurobehavioral development.
- To examine the relationship between prenatal PAH exposure and cord blood TL.
- To determine if TL mediates the effects of PAH exposure on neurobehavior.
Main Methods:
- Quantified 11 PAH metabolites in maternal urine from 283 non-smoking women.
- Measured cord blood TL using real-time quantitative PCR.
- Assessed neonatal neurobehavior using the Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment (NBNA) at 3 days old.
- Employed multiple linear regression and restricted cubic spline models for association and dose-response analyses.
- Conducted mediation analysis to explore the role of TL.
Main Results:
- Maternal urinary 2-hydroxyfluorene (2-OHFlu) and 2-hydroxyphenanthrene (2-OH Phe) showed dose-response associations with lower active tone scores, reduced NBNA sum scores, and shorter cord blood TL.
- Increased Ln(2-OH Flu) or Ln(2-OH Phe) levels correlated with significant decreases in active tone and NBNA sum scores.
- Mediation analysis revealed that TL accounted for 21.74% of the effect of 2-OH Phe on neonatal neurobehavioral development.
Conclusions:
- Specific maternal urinary PAH metabolites are inversely associated with neonatal neurobehavioral outcomes and cord blood TL.
- Telomere length acts as a mediator in the relationship between 2-OH Phe exposure and adverse neonatal neurobehavioral development.
- These findings highlight the potential role of TL in the pathway linking prenatal PAH exposure to developmental effects.
Background:
Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) is a potential risk factor for child neurobehavioral development. Telomere length (TL) has important implications for health over the life course.
Objective:
In this study, we aimed to investigate whether prenatal urinary PAH metabolites were associated with adverse neonatal neurobehavioral development and altered cord blood TL and to explore whether the change of TL was a predictor of neonatal neurobehavioral development.
Method:
We enrolled 283 nonsmoking pregnant women in Taiyuan city. Eleven PAH metabolites were measured in maternal urine samples. TL in cord blood was measured by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Neonatal behavioral neurological assessment (NBNA) tests were conducted when the infants were three days old. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the associations of maternal urinary PAH metabolites with NBNA scores and cord blood TL, and restricted cubic spline models were further used to examine the shapes of dose-response relationships. A mediation analysis was also conducted.
Result:
We observed dose-response associations of maternal urinary 2-hydroxyfluorene (2-OHFlu) and 2-hydroxyphenanthrene (2-OH Phe) with decreased active tone scores, sum of NBNA scores, and cord blood TL (P for trend<0.05). Each 1 unit increase in urinary levels of Ln (2-OH Flu) or Ln (2-OH Phe) was associated with a 0.092 or 0.135 decrease in the active tone scores and a 0.174 or 0.199 decrease in the sum of NBNA scores. Mediation analysis showed TL could explained 21.74% of the effect of sum of NBNA scores change related to prenatal exposure to 2-OH Phe (P for mediator = 0.047).
Conclusion:
Our data indicates maternal urinary specific PAH metabolites are inversely associated with neonatal neurobehavioral development and cord blood TL. TL mediates the associations of 2-OH Phe with neonatal neurobehavioral development and partly explains the effect of 2-OH Phe on neonatal neurobehavioral development.
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