Prenatal environmental exposures may influence fetal growth by disrupting the maternal metabolome and placental function. This exploratory study integrates untargeted maternal serum metabolomics and placental transcriptomics to identify shared molecular pathways through which the maternal environment affects fetal development. Data were drawn from the SAWASDEE birth cohort in northern Thailand, comprising pregnant farmworkers living in an agricultural region with known environmental exposure concerns. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) of placental transcriptomic data (n = 254) identified gene expression modules, which were analyzed for associations with neonatal outcomes in a subset with paired maternal metabolomics and birth data (n = 40). A placental gene module enriched for myogenesis-related genes was inversely associated with birth weight (β = −0.11, p = 0.03). Seventeen maternal serum metabolic features were associated with both this module and birth weight, including phospholipids related to membrane remodeling and putatively annotated quinoline-containing xenobiotic-like features with structural similarity to combustion-related or industrial compounds. Mediation analysis did not identify statistically significant indirect effects, although one putative xenobiotic-like feature showed a directionally consistent estimate. In this exploratory analysis, these findings identify maternal metabolomic patterns and placental gene networks that are associated with fetal growth and generate hypotheses regarding biologically relevant pathways linking maternal metabolism, placental function, and neonatal growth. Multiomics integration provides a useful exploratory framework for identifying candidate molecular pathways that warrant validation in larger studies.
Ye-Wei Wang, Dong-Hai Liang, Duan Wang et al.· Environment & Health· 0 citations
BackgroundExposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is linked to reduced fetal growth, yet little is known about potentially modifiable factors that may mitigate these harmful effects.AimIn this study, we assessed whether prenatal dietary factors, including folate, vitamin D, and dietary inflammation, may modify the inverse associations between prenatal PFAS exposure and birthweight for gestational age z-scores (BWZ).MethodsParticipants were a subset of the prospective Atlanta African American Maternal-Child Cohort (N = 268, delivery dates between 2014 and 2018), which includes serum and dietary intake data. Serum collected at 8-14 weeks' gestation was analyzed for four PFAS (perfluorohexane sulfonic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorononanoic acid) and total and free 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D). A semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire administered during early pregnancy was used to ascertain dietary folate equivalents (DFE) and dietary inflammatory index (DII) over the last three months. We used linear regression stratified by dichotomized dietary measures (DFE, total and free 25(OH)D, and DII) to assess effect modification of the association between individual PFAS and BWZ. Mixture effects were estimated using quantile-based g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression.SummaryA natural log increase in PFOS and PFOA was more strongly associated with lower BWZ only among participants with pro-inflammatory diets (DII ≥75th percentile) or low 25(OH)D (total 25(OH)D < 75th percentile). Similar patterns were observed in PFAS mixture analyses (e.g. ΨDII≥75thpercentile = -0.47, 95% CI = -0.77, -0.18, and ΨDII<75thpercentile = -0.08, 95% CI = -0.24, 0.07). Overall, maternal dietary factors may influence susceptibility to PFAS-related fetal growth effects.
Yun-Jie Huang, Dong-Hai Liang, Anne L. Dunlop et al.· Nutrition and Health· 0 citations
We use cookies to run the site and, with your consent, for analytics and to show ads.
See our Cookie Policy.
