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Early Pregnancy Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution among Late-Onset Preeclamptic Cases Is Associated with Placental DNA Hypomethylation of Specific Genes and Slower Placental Maturation
Exposure to ambient air pollution during pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia (PE). Some suggested mechanisms behind this association are changes in placental DNA methylation and gene expression. The objective of this study was to identify how early pregnancy exposure...
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Published in: | Toxics (Basel) 2021-12, Vol.9 (12), p.338 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Exposure to ambient air pollution during pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia (PE). Some suggested mechanisms behind this association are changes in placental DNA methylation and gene expression. The objective of this study was to identify how early pregnancy exposure to ambient nitrogen oxides (NO
) among PE cases and normotensive controls influence DNA methylation (EPIC array) and gene expression (RNA-seq). The study included placentas from 111 women (29 PE cases/82 controls) in Scania, Sweden. First-trimester NO
exposure was assessed at the participants' residence using a dispersion model and categorized via median split into high or low NO
. Placental gestational epigenetic age was derived from the DNA methylation data. We identified six differentially methylated positions (DMPs,
< 0.05) comparing controls with low NO
vs. cases with high NO
and 14 DMPs comparing cases and controls with high NO
. Placentas with female fetuses showed more DMPs (N = 309) than male-derived placentas (N = 1). Placentas from PE cases with high NO
demonstrated gestational age deceleration compared to controls with low NO
(
= 0.034). No differentially expressed genes (DEGs,
< 0.05) were found. In conclusion, early pregnancy exposure to NO
affected placental DNA methylation in PE, resulting in placental immaturity and showing sexual dimorphism. |
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ISSN: | 2305-6304 2305-6304 |
DOI: | 10.3390/toxics9120338 |