Cord blood T cell subpopulations and associations with maternal cadmium and arsenic exposures

Arsenic and cadmium are environmental pollutants, and although the evidence for adverse immune effects after prenatal arsenic and cadmium exposures is increasing, little is known about the underlying immunological mechanisms. We investigated the relationship between prenatal arsenic and cadmium expo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one Vol. 12; no. 6; p. e0179606
Main Authors: Nygaard, Unni C., Li, Zhigang, Palys, Thomas, Jackson, Brian, Subbiah, Melanie, Malipatlolla, Meena, Sampath, Vanitha, Maecker, Holden, Karagas, Margaret R., Nadeau, Kari C.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Public Library of Science 29.06.2017
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:
Adult
Analysis
Arsenic
Arsenic - analysis
Arsenic - toxicity
Asthma
Biology and Life Sciences
Blood
Cadmium
Cadmium - analysis
Cadmium - toxicity
Childbirth & labor
Children
Cohort analysis
Computer memory
Cord blood
Critical care
Cytokines
Departments
Disease prevention
DNA methylation
Environmental Exposure
Environmental health
Exposure
Female
Females
Fetal Blood - cytology
Hazardous materials
Hazardous substances
Helper cells
Hospitals
Humans
Immune system
Immunology
Immunophenotyping
Immunoregulation
Immunosuppression
Infections
Lymphocytes
Lymphocytes T
Males
Markers
Medicine
Medicine and Health Sciences
Memory cells
Nails - chemistry
Oxidative stress
Pediatrics
Physical Sciences
Physiological aspects
Pollutants
Populations
Pregnancy
Prenatal experience
Regression analysis
Research and Analysis Methods
Rheumatology
Rope
Studies
Subpopulations
T cells
T-Lymphocyte Subsets - drug effects
T-Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology
Toenail
Toxicology
Water pollution effects
Young Adult
United States
Lebanon
California
United States > US
New Hampshire
ISSN:1932-6203, 1932-6203
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Arsenic and cadmium are environmental pollutants, and although the evidence for adverse immune effects after prenatal arsenic and cadmium exposures is increasing, little is known about the underlying immunological mechanisms. We investigated the relationship between prenatal arsenic and cadmium exposures and a variety of T cell subpopulations measured in cord blood for 63 participants in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study. Post-partum toenail concentrations of arsenic and cadmium were used as an estimate of maternal exposure during pregnancy. The characteristics of cord blood proportions of T lymphocytes and subpopulations (expression of markers for Th1, Th2, Th17, Th1Th17, induced and natural regulatory T cells and NKTs) are presented. In regression analyses, maternal arsenic exposure levels were inversely associated with cord blood T helper memory cells (-21%, 95% CI: -36%, -3%) and the association was found to be stronger in females. They were also inversely associated with activated T helper memory cells, particularly in males (-26%, 95% CI: -43%, -3%). Similarly, inverse associations were observed between cadmium exposure levels and activated T helper memory cells (-16%, 95% CI: -30%, -1%) and also for T helper memory cells in females (-20%, 95% CI: -35%, -3%). The results suggest that prenatal exposures to relatively low levels of arsenic and cadmium may contribute to altered distribution of T cell populations at birth. These changes in theory, could have contributed to the previously reported immunosuppressive effects observed later in infancy/childhood.
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Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0179606