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Cited by 91Air Quality and Health ImpactsImmunotoxicology and immune responsesAsthma and respiratory diseases

Air pollution exposure during critical time periods in gestation and alterations in cord blood lymphocyte distribution: a cohort of livebirths

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Herr, Caroline EW, Dostal, Miroslav, Ghosh, Rakesh, Ashwood, Paul, Lipsett, Michael, Pinkerton, Kent E, Sram, Radim, Hertz-Picciotto, Irva·2010·Environmental Health
DOI 10.1186/1476-069x-9-46PMC PMC2927516
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Abstract

Background: Toxic exposures have been shown to influence maturation of the immune system during gestation. This study investigates the association between cord blood lymphocyte proportions and maternal exposure to air pollution during each gestational month. Methods: Cord blood was analyzed using a FACSort flow cytometer to determine proportions of T lymphocytes (CD3 + cells and their subsets, CD4 + and CD8 + ), B lymphocytes (CD19 + ) and natural killer (NK) cells. Ambient air concentrations of 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and particulate matter < 2.5 micrometer in diameter (PM 2.5 ) were measured using fixed site monitors. Arithmetic means of these pollutants, calculated for each gestational month, were used as exposure metrics. Data on covariates were obtained from medical records and questionnaires. Multivariable linear regression models were fitted to estimate associations between monthly PAH or PM 2.5 and cord blood lymphocytes, adjusting for year of birth and district of residence and, in further models, gestational season and number of prior live births. Results: The adjusted models show significant associations between PAHs or PM 2.5 during early gestation and increases in CD3 + and CD4 + lymphocytes percentages and decreases in CD19 + and NK cell percentages in cord blood. In contrast, exposures during late gestation were associated with decreases in CD3 + and CD4 + fractions and increases in CD19 + and NK cell fractions. There was no significant association between alterations in lymphocyte distribution and air pollution exposure during the mid gestation. Conclusions: PAHs and PM 2.5 in ambient air may influence fetal immune development via shifts in cord blood lymphocytes distributions. Associations appear to differ by exposure in early versus late gestation.

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  • Exposure during early gestation resulted in increased T lymphocytes, decreased B lymphocytes, and natural killer cells, whereas late gestation exposure was associated with an opposite immune phenotype with decreased T lymphocytes, increased B lymphocytes, and natural killer cells.

    “Exposure during early gestation resulted in increased T lymphocytes, decreased B lymphocytes, and natural killer cells, whereas late gestation exposure was associated with an opposite immune phenotype with decreased T lymphocytes, increased B lymphocytes, and natural killer cells.”

    From Air pollution and children’s health—a review of adverse effects associated with prenatal exposure from fine to ultrafine particulate matter (2021) · cites this paper as [23]

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  • Herr et al. observed that prenatal exposure to PM2.5 shifted lymphocyte distributions representative of the neonatal adaptive immune response in umbilical cord blood.

    “Herr et al. [23] observed that prenatal exposure to PM2.5 shifted lymphocyte distributions representative of the neonatal adaptive immune response in umbilical cord blood.”

    From Air pollution and children’s health—a review of adverse effects associated with prenatal exposure from fine to ultrafine particulate matter (2021) · cites this paper as [23]

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Authors
Herr, C. E., Dostal, M., Ghosh, R., Ashwood, P., Lipsett, M., Pinkerton, K. E., Sram, R., & Hertz-Picciotto, I.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Davis (US)
  • University of California, San Francisco (US)
ORCID
Venue
Environmental Health
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2010-08-02
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
46-46
ISSN
1476-069X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1476-069x-9-46
PMC
PMC2927516
OpenAlex
W2165988253
Cited by
91
References
42
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 4
FWCI
3.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Environmental Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ASEP (submittedVersion, public-domain)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immunotoxicology and immune responses
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Asthma and respiratory diseases
Keywords
air pollution exposure, prenatal exposure, cord blood lymphocytes, fetal immune development, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PM2.5, T cells, B cells, natural killer cells, pregnancy timing, maternal exposure
MeSH terms
Air Pollutants, Female, Fetal Blood, Fetus, Flow Cytometry, Gestational Age, Humans, Lymphocytes, Pregnancy, Cohort Studies, Lymphocyte Subsets, Maternal Exposure

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