Environmental Air Pollutants Inhaled during Pregnancy Are Associated with Altered Cord Blood Immune Cell Profiles

Abstract

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.

The Associations of Caesarean Delivery With Risk of Wheezing Diseases and Changes of T Cells in Children

“…One previous study showed a similar results that pre-labor cesarean section might contribute to the increasing ratio of CD4+ T cells (16). One previous study showed similar changes of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in cord blood of mother with air pollutants during pregnancy (17). Therefore, it is necessary to further explore the mechanism of the effects of CD on T cells, which may help to reveal the mechanism of the effect of CD on allergic diseases.…”

Prenatal and Postnatal Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Preschool Asthma in Neonatal Jaundice Infants

“…Large numbers of CD8 T cells and small numbers of CD4 T cells are related to exposure to SO 2 during pregnancy, and immune-related factors in cord blood play a role in the development of childhood respiratory inflammatory diseases. 33 Individuals with asthma have been shown to be more sensitive to SO 2 , even with shorten exposure windows. 34 Attention to SO 2 has been decreasing in recent years because of global improvements in industrial pollutants, except in some industrial areas.…”

Asthma and allergic diseases: Cross talk of immune system and environmental factors

“…Concerning the adaptive branch of the immune system, latest publications described, although contradictory, disturbed lymphocyte distributions after in utero exposure to air‐polluting substances including PM 2.5 , PM 10 , NO 2 , or SO 2 . While Martins Costa Gomes and co‐workers described reduced numbers of CD4 + and elevated numbers of CD8 + cells after SO 2 exposure, Garcia‐Serna and colleagues reported reduced numbers of CD8 + T cells, decreased numbers of T reg cells, and elevated numbers of T H 1 cells connected with PM exposure during pregnancy [57, 54]. Moreover, gestational exposure to traffic‐related air pollution (TRAP; mix of NO 2 , PM 2.5 , PM 10 , O 3 ) was also shown to increase pro‐inflammatory (IL‐1β and IL‐6), T H 2 related (IL‐13), and immunomodulatory (IL‐10) cytokines in newborn offspring [24].…”