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Maternal urban particulate matter (SRM 1648a) exposure disrupted the cellular immune homeostasis during early life: The potential attribution of altered placental transcriptome profile.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Liu, Y; Li, S; Liu, B; Zhang, J; Wang, C; Feng, L
Published in: Sci Total Environ
February 20, 2024

Ambient fine particular matter (PM2.5) exposure has been associated with numerous adverse effects including triggering functional disorders of the placenta and inducing immune imbalance in offspring. However, how maternal PM2.5 exposure impacts immune development during early life is not fully understood. In the current study, we exposed mice with low-, middle-, and high-dose PM2.5 during pregnancy to investigate the potential link between the transcriptional changes in the placenta and immune imbalance in mice offspring induced by PM2.5 exposures. Using flow cytometry, we found that the proportions of B cells, CD3+CD4+ T cells, CD3+CD8+ T cells, and macrophage (Mφ) cells were altered in the blood of PM2.5-exposed mice pups but not dendritic cells (DCs) and natural killer cells (NKs). Using bulk RNA sequencing, we found that PM2.5 exposure altered the transcriptional profile which indicated an inhibition of the complement and coagulation cascades in the placenta. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) revealed the potential crosstalk between the perturbation of placental gene expression and the changes of immune cell subsets in pups on postnatal day 10 (PND10). Specifically, WGCNA identified a cluster of genes including Defb15, Defb20, Defb25, Cst8, Cst12, and Adam7 that might regulate the core immune cell types in PND10 pups. Although the underlying mechanisms of how maternal PM2.5 exposure induces peripheral lymphocyte disturbance in offspring still remain much unknown, our findings here shed light on the potential role of placental dysfunction in these adverse effects.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Sci Total Environ

DOI

EISSN

1879-1026

Publication Date

February 20, 2024

Volume

912

Start / End Page

169432

Location

Netherlands

Related Subject Headings

  • Transcriptome
  • Pregnancy
  • Placenta
  • Particulate Matter
  • Mice
  • Maternal Exposure
  • Humans
  • Homeostasis
  • Female
  • Environmental Sciences
 

Citation

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MLA
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Liu, Y., Li, S., Liu, B., Zhang, J., Wang, C., & Feng, L. (2024). Maternal urban particulate matter (SRM 1648a) exposure disrupted the cellular immune homeostasis during early life: The potential attribution of altered placental transcriptome profile. Sci Total Environ, 912, 169432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169432
Liu, Yongjie, Shuman Li, Bin Liu, Jun Zhang, Cuiping Wang, and Liping Feng. “Maternal urban particulate matter (SRM 1648a) exposure disrupted the cellular immune homeostasis during early life: The potential attribution of altered placental transcriptome profile.Sci Total Environ 912 (February 20, 2024): 169432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169432.
Journal cover image

Published In

Sci Total Environ

DOI

EISSN

1879-1026

Publication Date

February 20, 2024

Volume

912

Start / End Page

169432

Location

Netherlands

Related Subject Headings

  • Transcriptome
  • Pregnancy
  • Placenta
  • Particulate Matter
  • Mice
  • Maternal Exposure
  • Humans
  • Homeostasis
  • Female
  • Environmental Sciences