Persistent Organic Pollutant Residues in Human Fetal Liver and Placenta from Greater Montreal, Quebec: A Longitudinal Study from 1998 through 2006

Abstract

BackgroundThere is general concern that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) found in the environment, wildlife, food, water, house dust, human tissues, and fluids may alter normal human physiologic activities (e.g., fetal development, immune and endocrine systems). Although the levels of some POPs [polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCs)] in these matrices have decreased after their ban, others [polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)] have increased in recent years.ObjectiveTo determine the longitudinal trend of specific POPs in human fetal tissues for risk assessment purposes.MethodsWe analyzed early to mid-gestation fetal liver (n = 52) and placental (n = 60) tissues, obtained after elective abortions during 1998–2006, for selected PBDEs, PCBs, and OCs using gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy.ResultsTotal PBDEs in fetal liver increased over time (mean ± SE: 1998, 284.4 ± 229.8 ng/g lipid; 2006, 1,607.7 ± 605.9; p < 0.03), whereas placental levels were generally lower, with no clear trend. Low levels of PCBs and OCs varied yearly, with no evident trend. The major analytes in 1998 were OCs (liver, 49%; placenta, 71%), whereas the major analytes in 2006 were PBDEs (liver, 89%; placenta, 98%). The 1998–2006 tissue PBDE congener profile is similar to that of DE-71, a commercial primarily pentabrominated diphenyl ether mixture manufactured in North America.ConclusionsAlthough commercial production of penta- and octa-brominated diphenyl ethers in North America was halted in 2004, their concentrations in fetal liver and placenta are now greater than the tissue burdens for the analyzed OCs and PCBs. Our findings also demonstrate that PBDEs accumulate within the fetal compartment at a very early stage in gestation.

Protective effect of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 on inflammatory cytokine response to brominated diphenyl ether-47 in the HTR-8/SVneo human first trimester extravillous trophoblast cell line

“…The concentrations of BDE-47 in this study are several orders of magnitude higher (100-fold or more) than the median concentrations reported previously in human gestational fluids and tissue: 337 – 21842 pg/ml in amnionic fluid (Miller et al , 2012), 0.11–3000 ng/g lipid in placentae (Doucet et al , 2009; Frederiksen et al , 2009), and 0.46 to 504 ng/g lipid in umbilical cord blood (Frederiksen et al , 2009; Guvenius et al , 2003; Wu et al , 2010). However, the concentrations of PBDEs in placentae can be as high as ~8 μM (Doucet et al , 2009).…”

Protective effect of (±)α-tocopherol on brominated diphenyl ether-47-stimulated prostaglandin pathways in human extravillous trophoblasts in vitro

“…Correcting for adsorption onto plastic, estimated at 73% (Barber et al , 2006; Mundy et al , 2004), the corrected concentrations of BDE-47 in culture medium in this study are estimated to range from 1.34 μM to 5.4 μM. Because concentrations of PBDEs in human placentae have been reported as high as ~8 μM (Doucet et al , 2009), the effects observed in the present study with 20 μM BDE-47 in the prepared exposure medium may have relevance for human exposures, albeit at the high end of the exposure range. However, 20 μM was the only effective concentration in most end points except that 15 μM BDE-47 significantly suppressed HPGD mRNA expression (Fig.…”

“…From solutions of 5, 10, 15 and 20 mM BDE-47 in DMSO, exposure media containing 5, 10, 15 and 20 μM BDE-47 were made in OptiMem 1 containing 1% FBS and 1% P/S immediately prior to initiating the experiments. BDE-47 concentrations were selected to include concentrations relevant to human exposure (Doucet et al , 2009) and previously shown by us to increase generation of ROS in the HTR-8/SVneo cells (Park et al , 2014b). The final concentration of DMSO in medium was 0.7 % (v/v).…”

Measurements of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated biphenyls in a single drop of blood

“…Even at low levels, PBDEs and PCBs can exert undesirable effects on wildlife and human beings. Emergent evidence from biomonitoring program suggested that PBDEs and PCBs, similar to other persistent organic pollutants (POPs), exert certain degree of neurological, endocrine-disrupting, immune-disrupting and genotoxic effects [15][16][17][18]. Therefore, these compounds have been included in biomonitoring programs as well as National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) held by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extensively.…”