TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmental air pollutants inhaled during pregnancy are associated with altered cord blood immune cell profiles
AU - Gomes, Gabriela Martins Costa
AU - Karmaus, Wilfried
AU - Murphy, Vanessa E.
AU - Gibson, Peter G.
AU - Percival, Elizabeth
AU - Hansbro, Philip M.
AU - Starkey, Malcolm R.
AU - Mattes, Joerg
AU - Collison, Adam M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This study was supported by the Rebecca L Cooper Research Foundation, the Priority Research Centre GrowUpWell, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC, 1060983), the Hunter Medical Research Institute and the Hunter Children’s Research Foundation. AMC received a fellowship from The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand and the National Asthma Council. PMH is funded by the NHMRC and Medical Research Future Fund (1175134, 1201338). MRS is funded by the NHMRC (1156898, 20000483) and Australian Research Council (DE170100226).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/7/2
Y1 - 2021/7/2
N2 - Air pollution exposure during pregnancy may be a risk factor for altered immune maturation in the offspring. We investigated the association between ambient air pollutants during pregnancy and cell populations in cord blood from babies born to mothers with asthma enrolled in the Breathing for Life Trial. For each patient (n = 91), daily mean ambient air pollutant levels were extracted during their entire pregnancy for sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter <10 µm (PM10) or <2.5 µm (PM2.5), humidity, and temperature. Ninety-one cord blood samples were collected, stained, and assessed using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Principal Component (PC) analyses of both air pollutants and cell types with linear regression were employed to define associations. Considering risk factors and correlations between PCs, only one PC from air pollutants and two from cell types were statistically significant. PCs from air pollutants were characterized by higher PM2.5 and lower SO2 levels. PCs from cell types were characterized by high numbers of CD8 T cells, low numbers of CD4 T cells, and by high numbers of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) and low numbers of myeloid DCs (mDCs). PM2.5 levels during pregnancy were significantly associated with high numbers of pDCs (p = 0.006), and SO2 with high numbers of CD8 T cells (p = 0.002) and low numbers of CD4 T cells (p = 0.011) and mDCs (p = 4.43 × 10−6) in cord blood. These data suggest that ambient SO2 and PM2.5 exposure are associated with shifts in cord blood cell types that are known to play significant roles in inflammatory respiratory disease in childhood.
AB - Air pollution exposure during pregnancy may be a risk factor for altered immune maturation in the offspring. We investigated the association between ambient air pollutants during pregnancy and cell populations in cord blood from babies born to mothers with asthma enrolled in the Breathing for Life Trial. For each patient (n = 91), daily mean ambient air pollutant levels were extracted during their entire pregnancy for sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter <10 µm (PM10) or <2.5 µm (PM2.5), humidity, and temperature. Ninety-one cord blood samples were collected, stained, and assessed using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Principal Component (PC) analyses of both air pollutants and cell types with linear regression were employed to define associations. Considering risk factors and correlations between PCs, only one PC from air pollutants and two from cell types were statistically significant. PCs from air pollutants were characterized by higher PM2.5 and lower SO2 levels. PCs from cell types were characterized by high numbers of CD8 T cells, low numbers of CD4 T cells, and by high numbers of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) and low numbers of myeloid DCs (mDCs). PM2.5 levels during pregnancy were significantly associated with high numbers of pDCs (p = 0.006), and SO2 with high numbers of CD8 T cells (p = 0.002) and low numbers of CD4 T cells (p = 0.011) and mDCs (p = 4.43 × 10−6) in cord blood. These data suggest that ambient SO2 and PM2.5 exposure are associated with shifts in cord blood cell types that are known to play significant roles in inflammatory respiratory disease in childhood.
KW - Air pollutants
KW - Asthma
KW - Cord blood
KW - Particulate matter
KW - Prenatal risk factors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85109767520&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph18147431
DO - 10.3390/ijerph18147431
M3 - Article
C2 - 34299892
AN - SCOPUS:85109767520
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 18
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 14
M1 - 7431
ER -
